What changed
Pakistan is pursuing or drafting preferential trade agreements across Asia, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan said in a Nov. 13 interview. The effort includes South Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, alongside the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and new efforts around minerals, renewable energy and electric vehicles.
Some arrangements are finalised, while others remain under negotiation or drafting. Pakistan has not identified the completed deals, their tariff terms or completion dates.
Why it matters
Pakistan is trying to turn its large domestic market, which Khan put at 250 million people, into leverage for wider economic ties. The practical test is whether the announcements become usable trade terms: lower barriers, clearer access and enough certainty for companies to commit.
The trade push is also being tied to industrial change at home. China already has interests in Pakistan’s mineral sector, including copper, gold, lead and zinc projects, while chipmakers, manufacturers and turbine producers are also looking at future supplies. That gives the negotiations a broader purpose than selling more goods: Pakistan is positioning minerals and infrastructure as part of a long-term investment pitch.
Energy policy is moving in the same direction. Textile producers are shifting from grid electricity toward solar power, batteries and wind, while the government is considering locomotive conversion and an electric-vehicle policy. The ambition is clear, but the commercial weight of the plan will depend on details still missing, including incentives, timing and a measurable target for reducing fossil-fuel dependence.
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