The conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and Pakistan will provide a great advantage to the bilateral trade and investment relations

Pakistan stands out with its 220 million young population, central geographical location in Asia, the good and deep-rooted relations it has with Turkey, and the opportunities it offers in many sectors such as infrastructure, energy, etc.

With regard to the trade volume of USD 889 million between Turkey and Pakistan in 2020, the leaders of both countries have set the target as USD 1 billion for the first stage and USD 5 billion for 2023.

Within the scope of the Strategic Economic Framework, signed during the Islamabad visit of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in February 2020, and an Action Plan annexed to this framework, the areas of textile, banking and finance, transportation, communication, cost-efficient residential construction, defence industry, aviation, automotive, agriculture, water resources, health care services, medication, education, energy, organized industrial zones, tourism, and SMEs have been determined as priority areas in the economical cooperation between two countries.

The size of Pakistan’s construction sector is predicted to increase to USD 34.9 billion by 2023. We expect that our firms will more actively take part in the projects of infrastructure, dams, roads, and construction within the scope of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). In respect of our business people, we believe that there will be many opportunities in the construction and infrastructure sectors in Pakistan as well as many other sectors, such as agriculture, food, technology, machinery, and energy.

 

Ahmet Cengiz Özdemir         Chairperson, DEİK/Turkey-Pakistan Business Council