Pakistan, UK Agree to Deepen Trade Ties and Explore Stronger Economic Partnership Framework
Pakistan and the UK have agreed to strengthen bilateral trade, expand business cooperation and explore upgrading the Trade Dialogue into a structured economic framework.
ISLAMABAD: (News Pulse) Pakistan and the United Kingdom have agreed to deepen bilateral trade engagement, enhance business-to-business cooperation, and explore transforming the existing Pakistan–UK Trade Dialogue into a more structured economic and trade framework.
The understanding was reached during a meeting between Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan and British High Commissioner Jane Marriott at the Ministry of Commerce. Commerce Secretary Jawad Paul and senior officials from both countries also attended the meeting.
Speaking on the occasion, Jam Kamal Khan said Pakistan is pursuing tariff rationalisation, digitalisation, and regulatory reforms to improve the country’s competitiveness and create a more business-friendly environment.
He said predictable tariff policies, improved access to finance, and affordable industrial inputs would enable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), e-commerce businesses, and export-oriented industries to expand into new international markets.
The commerce minister identified Africa and Central Asia as emerging destinations for Pakistani exports and called for closer cooperation in standards, certification, traceability, environmental compliance, and value addition to enhance export competitiveness.
British High Commissioner Jane Marriott welcomed Pakistan’s ongoing economic reforms and said the United Kingdom was considering upgrading the Pakistan–UK Trade Dialogue into a stronger institutional mechanism with dedicated sectoral working groups and clearly defined implementation timelines.
Commerce Secretary Jawad Paul informed the meeting that two Pakistan–UK working groups were already operational, while additional groups had been proposed to broaden bilateral cooperation across key sectors.
He also stressed the need to strengthen the role of the UK–Pakistan Business Council in facilitating trade, encouraging investment, and developing commercially viable business projects.
Paul further said Pakistan is reinforcing its intellectual property enforcement regime and announced that the appointment of a new Chairman of the Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan (IPO-Pakistan) is expected in the near future.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining close coordination and agreed to work towards holding the next Pakistan–UK Trade Dialogue in Islamabad during the autumn of this year.
