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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


Pakistan promotes Belt and Road port for Central Asian trade
Pakistan is offering access to Gwadar port, a strategic component in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), to landlocked Central Asian countries in the hope of stimulating activity at the idle facility.
Pakistan, Uzbekistan discuss transit, preferential trade agreements
Pakistan and Uzbekistan have agreed to enhance trade relations while discussing the progress made on bilateral transit trade agreement, Preferential Trade Agreement, banking and visa issues, and aviation and customs cooperation.
PTI govt has not signed or ratified any BIT as yet
Sources said that the government will have its own template for a BIT, which will replace the existing treaties with different countries.
Pakistan, Korea agree to hold further talks on trade
Pakistan and the Republic of Korea have agreed to hold further negotiations on the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) for increasing bilateral trade and promote free trade between the two countries.
3rd round of trade talks with S. Korea
Pakistan and South Korea held third round of the Joint Trade Committee meeting. The prospects of a Free Trade Agreement was discussed.
Reko Diq Case: NAB unearths corruption to the tune of billions
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Balochistan has collected irrefutable evidence revealing that billions of rupees have been lost to the national exchequer in the Reko Diq project after the bureau scrutinized its 30-year record.
Pakistan, Bosnia sign trade agreements and more
Pakistan and Bosnia on Wednesday agreed to strengthen the ties and improve trade between the two countries.
Pakistan eyes preferential trade with Afghanistan
Pakistan would discuss a preferential trade agreement with Afghanistan, as the two neighbours would open talks on a new transit trade agreement.
Pakistan seeks to boost trade with Sri Lanka to US$ 2 billion
The High Commission of Pakistan in Colombo held the first virtual business forum in collaboration with Sri Lanka Export Development Board (SLEDB) to enhance awareness regarding trade and investment opportunities between the two countries.
Ray of hope for Reko Diq penalty being nixed
Pakistan’s chances of having its $6 billion penalty in the Reko Diq case annulled have received a boost with a committee of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

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  • Pakistan FTAs
    Webpage maintained by the Ministry of Commerce