Key Takeaways
- Pakistan calls for early signing of GCC FTA with Qatar.
- Discussions focused on market access and Qatari investment in key sectors.
- Proposals include joint manufacturing, infrastructure projects and investment funds.
Pakistan has called for the early signing of the Pakistan-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) during talks in Doha, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
The talks, co-chaired by Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan and Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade Affairs, Dr Ahmad bin Mohammed Al-Sayed, aimed to review bilateral economic cooperation and explore new trade and investment opportunities.
Pakistan has completed its domestic approval process for the GCC FTA and forwarded the approved agreement text to the GCC Secretariat, the ministry stated.
The Pakistani side also urged Qatar to remove restrictions on bone-in meat exports to Qatar, stating that it had shared a technical dossier addressing animal health and food safety requirements with the relevant Qatari authorities.
Both countries discussed cooperation in agriculture, food security, industrial development, information technology, maritime transport and infrastructure.
Pakistan highlighted a proposed government-to-government arrangement between the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) and Qatar’s Hassad Food for the supply of Pakistani rice.
The proposal has been submitted to the federal cabinet for approval, and Pakistan also invited Qatari investment in grain storage, silos, cold-storage facilities, modern agriculture and advanced farming technologies.
In the industrial sector, Pakistan presented investment opportunities in new energy vehicles and electric vehicles, including joint manufacturing, technology transfer and industrial partnerships.
Opportunities in IT, digital infrastructure and digital services were also discussed, alongside potential investment in shipping, including oil tankers, liquefied natural gas carriers and container vessels.
The proposed Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway was identified as a key project to improve connectivity between seaports, the national road network and regional transit routes, particularly to Central Asia.
Pakistan further proposed the concept of an investment fund to attract Qatari participation in infrastructure, agriculture, industrial development and other priority sectors.
Both countries discussed the operationalization of 11 technical working groups covering areas such as logistics, aviation, advanced manufacturing, mining and minerals, agriculture, tourism, financial technology, healthcare, education, IT and startups.
The two ministers signed the minutes of the first Pakistan-Qatar Joint Task Force meeting, marking a significant step in bilateral economic cooperation.
