bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

Pakistan

The government of Pakistan is a keen pursuer of bilateral trade and investment agreements. It has a full FTA with Sri Lanka (2005), a PTA with Iran (2004) and Mauritius (2007), Early Harvest Schemes with China (2005) and Malaysia (2007), and is part of both ECOTA and SAFTA. It is in various stages of FTA talks, or preparations for talks, with Brunei, Indonesia, Jordan, Thailand, Malaysia, Morocco, Singapore, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Canada, Switzerland, Indonesia, Nepal, China, Turkey and Russia (among others). In July 2006, it signed a Framework Agreement on Trade with Mercosur.

Negotiations on a US-Pakistan bilateral investment treaty, as a step towards a US-Pakistan FTA, have been quite controversial and are unconcluded. After talks restarted in mid-2010, a draft US-Pakistan BIT was sent for approval to Pakistan’s Cabinet in April 2012. The Pakistani government has already signed almost 50 BITs with other countries. In 2011 Germany ratified a BIT with Pakistan.

On a wider scale, there is talk of possible Pakistani FTAs with Afghanistan, Algeria, the EU, Japan, Laos, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and Tunisia.

last update: May 2012
Photo: Asian Development Bank/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0


Pakistan, Uzbekistan to sign PTA
Pakistan and Uzbekistan will sign a preferential trade agreement this week to lower duties on nearly three-dozen products in the range of 20% to 100%.
Tunisia envoy hope for finalization of Pak-Tunisia proposed PTA
There have been several rounds of negotiation between the two countries on finalizing the PTA, and also an exchange of potential trade lists between the two countries.
Pakistan renegotiates terms and tariff for 2nd phase of FTA with China
Pakistan has started deliberations with China to renegotiate the terms and tariff lines for the second phase of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), this was revealed by officials of the Ministry Of Commerce.
CPEC phase-II much broader
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor phase-II is much broader in scope and focuses on relocation of industries, agriculture sector modernisation, cooperation in science and technology, said Pakistan’s Ambassador to China.
China’s BRI gets entangled in Pakistan port protest
Gwadar unrest grows as fishing communities complain of job losses and broken promises linked to Belt and Road Initiative projects
Majority of CPEC projects completed: envoy
A majority of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects have been completed, revealed Chinese Consul General in Karachi Li Bijian.
Azerbaijan, Pakistan to sign PTA
Pakistan and Azerbaijan are working on a preferential trade agreement, which will lower customs tariffs and improve bilateral trade, announced Azerbaijani ambassador to Pakistan.
‘Pak-Thailand FTA likely to be finalised by end year’
The process of dialogue between the two countries had been slowing down during the COVID- 19 pandemic period, the ambassador of Thailand to Pakistan said.
‘Pakistan to renegotiate all bilateral investment treaties’
Pakistan will renegotiate all bilateral investment treaties (BITs) on the basis of new BIT template being finalised by the government, a top official of the Board of Investment said.
Pakistan seeks trade deals with Saudi, UAE, Oman - official says
Pakistan will pursue individual trade deals with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, a Pakistani official said on Sunday, as talks with the Gulf Cooperation Council remain stalled.

    Links


  • Pakistan FTAs
    Webpage maintained by the Ministry of Commerce