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, Turkey in talks for FTA
Pakistan concerned authorities are in the process of building consensus with Turkish for a meaningful free trade agreement (FTA) and increase in economic integration.
Amended FTA with China to be finalised in mid-Feb
In order to improve Pakistan-China trade relations, amendments to the FTA will be finalised in mid-February dialogue between the two sides
Pakistan, Iran to hold talks on FTA next month
Iran and Pakistan will hold further talks on Free Trade Agreement during second week of February 2019 focusing on finding out ways to resolve banking channel issues.
Pakistan seeks to sign FTA with Latin America bloc
The External Relations Group of Mercosur will take up Pakistan’s request for signing a free trade agreement in early 2019
Pakistan wants to revisit 2005 FTA with Sri Lanka
Pakistan has said it wants to revisit the Free Trade Agreement signed with Sri Lanka in 2005.
PTA with Tunisia soon
Tunisia can be a gateway for Pakistani business community to the African countries, says Tunisian Ambassador
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia agree to negotiate FTA
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia agreed to negotiate a free trade agreement for trade liberalisation and increasing the volume between the two countries.
Pakistan, Turkey agreed to revive dialogue on Free Trade Agreement: FM Qureshi
Pakistan and Turkey have agreed to further bolster their trade, economic, investment and defense relations.
Pakistan seeks rejig of economic corridor, trade pact with China
Pakistan seeks to renegotiate FTA as well as China Pakistan Economic Corridor deals
Pakistan to evaluate trade policy on modern lines
Pakistan would evaluate its trade policy according to modern trends, and implement the strategic policy framework 2015/19 in letter and spirit to boost the country’s exports.

    Links


  • Pakistan FTAs
    Webpage maintained by the Ministry of Commerce