PAKISTAN plans to double its exports within the next three to five years, with a particular focus on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) market.
Speaking to Asharq Business and Bloomberg during his visit to Saudi Arabia for the Al-Ula Conference for Emerging Market Economies 2025, Aurangzeb outlined the country’s ambitions to significantly boost its international trade.
Pakistan’s exports currently stand at $30 billion and it seems a challenging task to double it in the next three to five years but the goal is realizable as the country has the necessary potential for the purpose provided the existing policies are taken to fruition. The target speaks much about the level of confidence of our planners and decision-makers as only one to two years back it was widely apprehended that the country might default.
However, the situation has changed significantly as all economic indicators are positive, multilateral institutions are willing to partner with Pakistan and investors are eager to initiate ventures in different sectors of the economy. As per data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the country’s net foreign direct investment (FDI) increased by 56 percent, reaching $1.524 billion in the seven months of the current fiscal year.
There is marked increase in IT and textile exports and the figure will likely go up as a number of Pakistani companies have clinched deals with their Saudi counterparts during the recent tech conference in Riyadh.
There is also much scope for increased exports of agricultural commodities to the GCC region. We hope the Finance Ministry, in close coordination with other divisions, will create a congenial atmosphere for production of surplus for export and ensure quality of made in Pakistan.
