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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


Musharraf’s visit to China boosts chances of free trade accord
Pakistan’s interest not withstanding, there are many who believe that a free trade deal with China would adversely affect the south Asian country’s economic prospects.
Musharraf says Sino-Pak agreement on free trade will be finalised this year
Pakistan can be an energy corridor for China and it wants the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline extended up to China, President General Pervez Musharraf told a group of Chinese traders during a meeting on Wednesday.
Humayun proposes PTA talks with Kabul
Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan on Wednesday suggested initiation of talks on preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Afghanistan, which would lead to free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
Pakistan, US to soon sign BIT: Jahangir Karamat
Former Pakistan ambassador to US, Gen (Retd) Jehangir Karamat has hoped Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) will soon be signed between Pakistan and US.
Singapore-Pak FTA by year-end
Singapore and Pakistan will sign the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) before the end of this year, Federal Minister of Commerce, Himayun Akhtar Khan has said.
Pakistan begins talks with China for free trade accord
Pakistan is in separate bilateral talks with China and Malaysia to ease trade restrictions between the nations and is close to signing an accord with Singapore, commerce minister Humayun Akhtar said.
Chinese proposal for FTA items’ classification rejected
Pakistan has rejected a Chinese demand that 90 percent items covered under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) should be put on positive list and remaining 10 percent in negative mode.
Pakistan and US to enhance trade, economic relations
The United States has appreciated Pakistan’s trade and investment policies as liberal and attractive and has suggested to the government of Pakistan to arrange a meeting with all US companies working in Pakistan at a proper forum to know their concerns about making investment in Pakistan and subsequently devise a mechanism to address their concerns as it would go a long way in attracting foreign investment in Pakistan.
M’sia provides ideal base to penetrate Asean market
Bilateral and regional trade and investment liberalisation measures undertaken in the context of Asean complement the opportunities offered by Malaysia’s growing economy, thus providing an ideal base for companies to penetrate the Asean market, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said Thursday.
Federal Cabinet approves finalizing of FTA with Russia
Pakistan’s Federal Cabinet has approved finalizing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Russia.

    Links


  • Pakistan FTAs
    Webpage maintained by the Ministry of Commerce