Policy paper

Joint statement: first UK-Pakistan Trade Dialogue

Published 15 July 2025

On Monday 14 July 2025, the UK and Pakistan held the inaugural ministerial-led Trade Dialogue meeting in London. The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security, Douglas Alexander MP, hosted the Federal Minister for Commerce, Jam Kamal Khan, at the Old Admiralty Building to reaffirm the importance of the bilateral trade and investment relationship and discuss next steps to ensure it reaches its full potential.

Trade policy

The ministers discussed the present state of bilateral trade and opportunities for increasing it. Total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Pakistan was £4.7 billion in the 4 quarters to the end of Quarter 4 (October to December) 2024, an increase of 7.3% or £320 million in current prices from the 4 quarters to the end of Quarter 4 2023. Opportunities to increase trade were identified in sectors such as information technology, professional and business services, healthcare, education, agri-tech, and pharmaceuticals, as highlighted in the barrier analysis and market access assessments undertaken by both sides. 

They also discussed priority issues affecting businesses and how they planned to work together to resolve them. This included the mutual benefits in collaborating to strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights for UK and Pakistan businesses.

Wider trade cooperation

The Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) is a key element of our economic partnership. Under the DCTS, 92% of Pakistani goods are eligible for zero tariffs when imported into the UK. As announced in the Trade Strategy, the UK government is now making further changes to help further simplify and liberalise the scheme.

The UK government has also co-developed an export promotion campaign to get Pakistani businesses exporting internationally. The campaign uses components of paid and organic media, events engagements, and media partnership.

Sectoral cooperation

The ministers discussed priority sectors for increased cooperation. The UK raised education, healthcare and information technology (IT) as sectors of particular interest, with healthcare and IT featuring as priorities under the Industrial Strategy. Pakistan raised opportunities for deepening links in agriculture, mining, textiles, IT, and pharmaceuticals, with a view to promoting inclusive growth, value addition, and investment collaboration. The ministers charged officials with jointly agreeing objectives and workstreams for these sectors before the next ministerial meeting.

People-to-people links

A uniquely defining characteristic of the economic relationship are our people-to-people links. To utilise our shared wealth of senior business leaders and harness the growth potential of diaspora investors, the ministers agreed to establish a Business Advisory Council with representatives from both countries to inform the work of the dialogue and make sure it is focused on the needs of businesses. The first members have been appointed and will meet later this year.

The council will also serve as a platform to channel insights from diaspora entrepreneurs, enhance bilateral networking opportunities, and recommend concrete policy measures to remove commercial bottlenecks and unlock new areas of cooperation.

Investment

At the end of 2023, investment from the UK into Pakistan was £2.5 billion, an increase of 8.4% from 2022, and £95 million from Pakistan to the UK, representing an increase of 7.8% since 2022. Improving bilateral investment was identified as a priority, noting the strong growth potential that exists, particularly among the diaspora. The UK supports Pakistan’s aspirations to attract UK investment flows and will make available up to £200,000 to facilitate Pakistan’s efforts, while the UK will continue to promote investment opportunities and conduct targeted engagement with Pakistani investors.

Both sides agreed to explore mechanisms for sustained public-private dialogue to support investment facilitation and policy coherence.

The inaugural UK-Pakistan Trade Dialogue marked a renewed commitment by both countries to strengthen bilateral economic ties through structured, long-term cooperation. The ministers looked forward to the constructive exchanges that will be held across the dialogue’s working groups and endorsed the objectives as a foundation for deeper engagement. Both sides agreed to maintain close coordination through the newly established Business Council and regular official-level engagements to ensure progress on agreed priorities. The ministers reaffirmed their resolve to work collaboratively to unlock new trade and investment opportunities, advance inclusive and sustainable economic development, and deliver tangible outcomes for businesses and citizens in both countries ahead of the next ministerial meeting.