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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


Negotiations initiated with Iran for signing FTA: Khurram
Pakistan: The Federal Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastgir Khan informed the Senate that negotiations were being initiated with Iran for signing the Free Trade Agreement.
Pak-Iran to sign FTA after resumption of banking channels
Joint ministerial level meeting between Pakistan and Iran to be held in Tehran on April 18, for negotiation on bilateral trade and FTA between the two countries.
Turkish investors wary of impending FTA with Pakistan
It has been argued that Pakistan has signed six FTAs and Preferential Trade Agreements since 2006, but none of them have so far benefited the country.
Pakistan invited to conclude FTA with GCC: Dastgir
Minister for Commerce, Khurram Dastgir Khan says Pakistan has been invited to conclude a Free Trade Agreement with Gulf Cooperation Council.
Pakistan, Turkey to hold 6th round of FTA talks
Paksitan and Turkey will hold sixth round of negotiations on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in April (2017).
Turkey links FTA to market access for auto sector
Turkey has linked finalisation of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with market access for Turkish auto sector in Pakistan.
Pakistan, Turkey free trade pact in May
The long-awaited Free Trade Agreement will pave way for the South Asian nation to enter Turkey’s agriculture and pharmaceutical market.
Pakistan, Turkey to hold sixth round talks on FTA
Both the sides will hold discussion on agreement on goods, services and on investment.
Pakistan, Thailand discuss free trade agreement
Pakistan and Thailand are discussing Free Trade Agreement (FTA), likely to be signed within three months after both the sides finalize recommendations to be accommodated in the agreement.
Free Trade Agreement: Pakistan, Malaysia in talks to cut duties further
Pakistan and Malaysia are negotiating to further reduce duties on existing and additional tariff lines under the FTA to facilitate businesses of both countries.

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  • Pakistan FTAs
    Webpage maintained by the Ministry of Commerce