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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


Two-day parleys on CPFTA-II begin today
Pakistan and China are holding a two-day (April 9-10, 2019) parleys in Beijing to finalise second phase of China Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA), which is expected to attract criticism from domestic industry.
Second phase of Sino-Pakistan FTA to be signed in next month
The second phase of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and China is likely to be signed in next month.
Pak-Iran FTA draft likely to be signed this month
Pakistan and Iran are most likely to finalise the draft for Free Trade Agreement (FTA) during the two-day talks on April 22-23 to be held in Islamabad.
Pakistan diverts CPEC corridor funds; China ties under pressure
A controversy has erupted over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) following allegations that the Pakistani government has diverted funds for joint infrastructure development projects with China under BRI to other projects.
Pakistan to seek $1 bn export orders from China: Razak
Pakistan and China are set to sign the Free Trade Agreement (FTA)-II when Prime Minister Imran Khan will leave for Beijing on April 27
CPEC and Gwadar fishermen
A component of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor would prevent fishermen from fishing on Gwadar’s eastern port, which had been the only source of income for centuries. The Fishermen Alliance has announced that its protests will continue.
Pakistan, China set to ink FTA-II by June 2019
Pakistan and China are set to ink much-awaited second free trade agreement by June 2019 and to this effect a technical experts’ delegation from Islamabad will leave for China by end of February.
EFTA shows interest to sign Free Trade Agreement with Pakistan
The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) – comprised of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland - has shown interest to sign Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Pakistan.
Pakistan to ink MoU on free trade agreement with Saudi Arabia
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are also going to sign memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for a Free Trade Agreement.
China, Pakistan inching towards BoP deal, FTA-II
China and Pakistan are reportedly inching towards a deal on Balance of Payment (BoP) support with commercial loans and the second phase of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) expected to be finalised prior April, 2019

    Links


  • Pakistan FTAs
    Webpage maintained by the Ministry of Commerce