Key Takeaways
- FPCCI President Atif Ikram Sheikh calls for stronger economic ties among OIC member states.
- Pakistan has significant potential to deepen trade and investment with OIC markets.
- Intra-OIC trade accounts for 20.36% of member states' total foreign trade.
The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) has called for enhanced economic integration among the 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), highlighting the vast untapped potential for deeper trade and investment.
Atif Ikram Sheikh, President of FPCCI, stated that despite the OIC's combined GDP of around $10.77 trillion, trade among member states accounts for only 20.36% of their total foreign trade, underscoring the need for greater cooperation.
Sheikh emphasized the importance of promoting Islamic economic integration through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, noting that OIC countries recorded approximately $1.7 trillion in exports and $1.6 trillion in imports during the year, indicating the enormous scale of the market and the opportunities available for greater economic integration.
Pakistan, with its strategic location, young population, and industrial base, has significant potential to deepen Islamic economic engagement with OIC markets, particularly in textiles, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and renewable energy sectors.
The President of FPCCI highlighted that Pakistan’s Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) provides a strong foundation for attracting investment from OIC countries, calling for greater business-to-business interaction and joint investment projects.
Sheikh stressed that the focus should not remain limited to conventional trade but should increasingly include joint ventures, technology partnerships, and regional value chains, aiming to convert the potential of the Islamic world into greater trade, investment, and sustainable business partnerships.
He also called for the transformation of Pakistan’s relations with the Islamic world into stronger trade, investment, and business partnerships, emphasizing the need for improved trade facilitation, connectivity, and private-sector cooperation.
The FPCCI President noted that intra-OIC trade reached $1 trillion, representing 20.36% of the member states' total foreign trade, but highlighted that substantial room remains for expanding trade among OIC countries.
Our objective should be to convert this potential into greater trade, investment, joint ventures and sustainable business partnerships.
Atif Ikram Sheikh, President of FPCCI
