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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


BITs with EC, South Asia to continue
Pakistani government decides to avoid future investment treaties and cancels agreements posing legal risks.
Bilawal, Norwegian FM for early conclusion of FTA between Pakistan, EFTA
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his Norwegian counterpart Ms. Anniken Huitfeldt Tuesday underlined the importance of early conclusion of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
President calls for enhancing trade, investment with Korea
President Dr Arif Alvi has said there is a need to explore new avenues of cooperation between Pakistan and Korea for further enhancing bilateral trade and investment.
Pakistan, Turkey sign Preferential Trade Agreement
Pakistan and Turkey on Friday signed the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) aimed at boosting trade in goods between the two countries.
Pakistan, Turkey to boost bilateral trade
Pakistan and Turkey agreed to constitute a joint task force under the coordination of their commerce and trade ministries to develop a comprehensive road map, covering the issues connected to bilateral trade.
Pakistan and Gulf Coop Council agree to conclude negotiations on FTA
Pakistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has agreed to complete the negotiations on Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Pakistan-Uzbekistan free trade deal on the cards
Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan Aybek Arif Usmanov hinted at the possibility of inking the FTA.
Pakistan, China may renegotiate FTA benefits
Islamabad wants more concessions exclusive to its products.
TIFA talks: US raises taxation issues with Pakistan
The United States on Monday raised issues related to taxation, transparency, good governance and intellectual property rights during discussion in Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).
US-Pakistan TIFA talks start today with view to boost ties
Pakistan and the United States (US) are all set to hold parlays on bilateral trade and investment under the umbrella of Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) on March 7-9, 2022.

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  • Pakistan FTAs
    Webpage maintained by the Ministry of Commerce