Atif Ikram Sheikh seeks enhanced business & trade cooperation with ASEAN countries
The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) is actively engage with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries to foster economic cooperation and explore trade opportunities.
President of the FPCCI, Atif Ikram Sheikh expressed these views while addressing an interactive session on “Economic Integration between Pakistan and the ASEAN Region” organized by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) at the FPCCI President Secretariat.
Islamabad-based ASEAN countries’ ambassadors, high commissioners and diplomats from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam attended the event to deliberate on the scope and opportunities to accelerate ASEAN-Pakistan business, trade and investment.
Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, Rana Tanveer Hussain, delivered the keynote address on the occasion while Federal Minister for Investment Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh was the chief guest. FPCCI’s senior members including Vice President, Tariq Khan Jadoon, Chairman of the FPCCI Capital House, Karim Aziz Malik, Chairman, Coordination Malik Sohail, Convener (Chairman) of Central Standing Committee on Media & Broadcasting, Mr Faisal Zahid Malik were also present on the occasion.
In his keynote address, Federal Minister Rana Tanveer emphasized deepening economic engagement between Pakistan and the ASEAN region.
He commended the leadership of FPCCI President Mr. Atif Ikram Sheikh for organizing the session at a critical time when regional cooperation and trade diplomacy are vital to shared prosperity.
ASEAN, with over 700 million people and a collective GDP of more than $3.9 trillion, has emerged as a powerful economic bloc on the global stage. Pakistan, he said, shares longstanding cultural, historical, and strategic ties with ASEAN nations and is now seeking stronger commercial and investment linkages, said the minister.
Despite this huge potential, trade volumes between Pakistan and ASEAN countries remain below their true capacity. He urged for collective efforts to reduce trade barriers, enhance market access, and promote bilateral and multilateral investment.
He particularly highlighted sectors such as textiles, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, IT, and energy, where mutual cooperation could bring meaningful results. The Minister also underscored the need for collaboration in technology transfer, digital entrepreneurship, and skill development, drawing on ASEAN’s strengths in innovation and vocational training.
Minister for Investment, Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh in his remarks said Pakistan highly valued ties with ASEAN countries and offered tremendous opportunities of investment to the ASEAN businessmen, investors and companies.
He vowed to protect the interest of the investors as the government is working to simplify the rules and regulations regarding business and investment in the country. He reiterated the Government of Pakistan’s full commitment to enhancing regional economic integration and promoting effective trade diplomacy.
Atif Ikram Sheikh highlighted trade imbalance between ASEAN and Pakistan. Pakistan’s exports to ASEAN stand at US$2.2 billion while Pakistan’s imports from ASEAN countries figure at US$6 billion. “Due to Pakistan’s strategic significance, ASEAN countries can find a new booming market for investment and trade here in Pakistan, he offered.
Millions of skilled people from Pakistan are serving in ASEAN countries, and investors from ASEAN countries should take advantage of investment opportunities in various sectors in Pakistan, he said.
He said that Pakistan and ASEAN countries have a lot of potential in the areas of seafood, agriculture, leather industry and others.
There are vast opportunities to increase trade in the sectors, he said. Vice President FPCCI, Aoun Ali Syed said that Pakistan and ASEAN have huge potential to increase the current trade volume of $11 billion to exceeding its to $30 billion in the coming 10 years.
Among the promising sectors for bilateral trade include Science & Technology, Agriculture and Information Technology, he said
Pakistan through CPEC provides ASEAN countries easy access to Middle East and Central Asia, he further said.
Malaysia High Commissioner Dato Azhar Mazlan, as current Chair of the ASEAN Committee, expressed gratitude on behalf of the ASEAN missions’ heads and deputy heads and commended the FPCCI for organizing a seminar on a very pertinent subject.
ASEAN is going to become the fourth largest economy of the world by 2030 and Pakistan should enhance trade with ASEAN instead of Middle East or other parts of the world. In Malaysia for instance, there are many Pakistanis who are doing successful business for many years and the ASEAN countries are full of promise for the investors and foreign businessmen.
He also mentioned Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s upcoming visit to Malaysia later this year hoping it would also give further boost to the economic cooperation between ASEAN and Pakistan in general and Malaysia and Pakistan in particular.
