Pakistan, Turkey aim to increase bilateral trade to $5B

Pakistan and Turkey have committed to enhancing bilateral trade to $5 billion through a new agreement, said a statement issued after a two-day dialogue between top officials of the two nations.

Discussions on increasing bilateral trade were held during the 16th Session of the Pakistan–Turkey Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) in Islamabad on 8 and 9 September. The meeting was co-chaired by Jam Kamal Khan, Minister for Commerce of Pakistan and Yaşar Guler, Minister of National Defense of Turkey.

The two sides agreed to hold the first in-person round of negotiations for the Trade in Goods Agreement scheduled for October 2025. The delegations also vowed to deepen business-to-business linkages, facilitate digital trade, and streamline customs cooperation.

The session was preceded by inter-ministerial consultations and coordination between both sides, including through the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, Joint Standing Committees, and diplomatic missions, the statement read.

The delegations discussed avenues for cooperation in 24 sectors, including trade and investment, energy, ICT, banking and finance, industrial cooperation, education, health, labor, tourism, and climate change.

Last year, Pakistan imported goods and services worth $ 785 million from Turkey, with exports standing at $322 million. The bilateral trade volume between the two nations stood at around $1 billion.

Earlier this year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said the two nations would increase bilateral trade to $5 billion.

"It is also important that we develop combined freight transportation, diversify our transportation options, and make progress, especially on road and rail. It will be in the interest of our entire region to evaluate the projects that we can realize with a holistic perspective on the common corridor, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and development road routes, such as the reactivation of the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul Freight Train Line," he said while addressing the Turkey-Pakistan Business Forum in Islamabad.

The ministerial delegation of Pakistan and Turkey also discussed the regional connectivity project and agreed to operationalize the Islamabad–Tehran–Istanbul (ITI) Railway Corridor and advance work on the proposed TURPAK Transport Corridor,” said the statement.

In the energy sector, Pakistan and Turkey will explore collaboration in renewables, hydrocarbons, hydrogen, mining, LNG, electric vehicle infrastructure, electricity distribution, transmission modernization, and hydropower development.

The two nations will jointly organize an IT Business Forum and strengthen SME cooperation under the. In agriculture, the two sides agreed to collaborate in livestock health, irrigation, fisheries, and the development of digital crop surveillance systems.

Pakistan will increase the presence of Turkish banks in the country, strengthen Islamic and digital finance, and expand cooperation between Exim Banks.

“The two countries also committed to finalizing an MoU on labor cooperation covering labor rights, women’s employment, child protection, and social security sustainability, and to establish a Joint Working Commission on Labor,” the statement added.

The delegations also agreed on the operationalization of the Pakistan-Turkey Textile Technology Centre in Faisalabad, expansion of academic and vocational exchange programs, and increased collaboration in tourism, pharmaceuticals, health tourism, and heritage conservation.