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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


Bilateral FTA talks with Thailand likely
Pakistan and Thailand on Wednesday agreed to start formal talks on striking a deal on a free trade agreement (FTA) to double the bilateral trade from $1 billion to $2bn until 2015.
Pakistan, Thailand eye free trade agreement
Pakistan and Thailand on Tuesday expressed the resolve to build a strong economic partnership, double their trade volume to $2 billion in the next five years and eventually enter into a free trade agreement (FTA).
FTA draft handed over to Nepal: Dar
Pakistan Senator Ishaq Dar said that a draft of the Free Trade Agreement between Pakistan and Nepal was handed over to the Nepalese side during the sixth session of Pakistan-Nepal Joint Economic Commission.
Why (not) so serious?: US keen to revive Bilateral Investment Treaty
The United States has asked Pakistan to take the Bilateral Investment Treaty ‘seriously’, as Islamabad plans to bring all domestic stakeholders on board before entering negotiations.
Russia may sign PTA or FTA with Pakistan
The Russian Federation, which ratified its accession to World Trade Organisation (WTO) a few days ago, may also agree to sign a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) or a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Pakistan.
KCCI urges Belgium to facilitate signing of FTA between Pak and EU
The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged that Belgium, being the capital of Europe and centre of European politics and policy making, should support the efforts for signing free trade agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and European Union.
Bilateral agreements easy to negotiate’
Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) could be successful if bilateral agreements between the member countries complement them.
KCCI urges signing FTA with Thailand
Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) urged to explore the opportunities of signing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and Thailand in view of existing tremendous trading potential. Exchanging views with the Consul General of Thailand Wichai Sirisujin President KCCI Haroon Agar proposed Thai Consulate’s and KCCI’s Halal Food Pavilion in the 10th My-Karachi Exhibition 2013.
Broad rules to govern Pak-India free trade urged
Trade and industry in favour of free trade has pleaded with the government to ensure well-defined rules of engagement with Indian government and advised the bureaucracy to do its homework and examine trade factsheet before making any commitment one way or another.
Investment protection: government to develop model text of BITs
Pakistan’s federal government will develop a model text of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) with the assistance of the Ministry of Law and Justice Division to ensure protection to investment on reciprocity basis.

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  • Pakistan FTAs
    Webpage maintained by the Ministry of Commerce