Islamabad: The Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) successfully hosted a high-level seminar on “Türkiye–Pakistan Trade Relations: New Growth Points,” drawing on the evolving contours of the relationship, untapped growth potential in key sectors, and the role of instruments such as the 2022 Turkiye-Pakistan Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) in advancing trade volume targets.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Jauhar Saleem, President of the Institute of Regional Studies, expressed deep-seated optimism to bring Turkiye-Pakistan bilateral trade in line with the strengths of their all-round political cooperation. He underlined Turkiye’s critical role in supporting Pakistan in present and past crises, and emphasized the need to transition from the 2022 PTA towards a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to scale the existing bilateral trade volume to $5 billion.
Dr. Serhat Süha Çubukçuoğlu, Director of the TRENDS Turkey Virtual Office and Senior Researcher, delivered the principal talk at the event. He drew attention to the strategic shifts in the global economy, warranting a pivot towards the Asia Pacific, which serves as a point of convergence between Turkish and Pakistani leaderships. Dr. Çubukçuoğlu underscored the large-scale growth potential in sectors such as defense production, technology exchanges and value-added exports, calling for a pragmatic roadmap to deepen trade cooperation.
“From alternative currency debates to the changing economic order, such as de-dollarization and alternative financial payment systems, all of these factors elevate Turkiye and Pakistan’s positions in the changing world order,” Dr. Çubukçuoğlu noted. He also highlighted that both countries are actively expanding their collaboration in extracting conventional energy resources, with the state-owned Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) bidding alongside Pakistani firms for offshore oil and gas.
The webinar addressed structural trade barriers, the need for greater private sector engagement, and the importance of harmonizing standards and regulations. Dr. Çubukçuoğlu highlighted recent bilateral agreements, key institutional frameworks, and the value of the Azerbaijan-Turkiye-Pakistan trilateral engagement platform in advancing long-sought regional connectivity goals.
The event concluded with a robust Q&A session, with Dr. Çubukçuoğlu pointing out that there were no large-scale strategic irritants to the Turkiye-Pakistan partnership, and underlined lessons from Qatar and other major powers in scaling up defense industrial trade with Turkiye – a vital indicator of military, naval and technological access exchanges between Turkiye and Pakistan in the future.
