KARACHI: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have agreed to jointly explore high-growth regional markets and align their production and capital strengths, as the two countries seek to deepen trade and investment ties under a recently launched economic cooperation framework.
The understanding was reached during talks between Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan and Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Investment Ibrahim Al-Mubarak in the Kingdom, where both sides discussed expanding collaboration in agriculture, corporate farming, skills development, construction materials, and export-oriented industries.
Both countries have long-standing close bilateral ties that have evolved into a multidimensional strategic partnership.
Both countries had launched an Economic Cooperation Framework in October last year, aimed at shifting relations beyond aid toward sustainable trade, investment, and development links. A month earlier, the framework followed the signing of a joint security agreement, under which aggression against one would be treated as an attack on both.
Productive meeting with H.E. Ibrahim Al-Mubarak, Assistant Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia, to advance Pakistan–Saudi trade and investment cooperation. Agreed to deepen partnership in agriculture, corporate farming, skills development, construction materials and joint… pic.twitter.com/osaPCn3KjJ
— Jam Kamal Khan (@jam_kamal) February 10, 2026
“A main point of the dialogue was the joint exploration of regional markets, particularly Central Asia, Africa, and ASEAN, identified as high-growth regions offering significant opportunities for collaboration,” a statement circulated by Pakistan’s commerce ministry after the meeting.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are leveraging their respective strengths
“Both countries consented that Pakistan and KSA, by leveraging their respective strengths, can position themselves as complementary partners — combining Pakistan’s production capabilities with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s capital strength, market access, and regional connectivity,” it added.
The KSA expressed interest in corporate farming in Pakistan, particularly in the rice sector, with discussions covering mechanization, storage, and logistics to enable consistent, long-term exports under structured arrangements.
Negotiations also covered broader cooperation in agriculture, cooperative farming and food security, including rice, fodder, meat and other agri-products, with the potential involvement of KSA financing institutions in supporting export-linked agricultural and infrastructure projects.
According to the official statement, large-scale farming and mechanization were discussed as long-term solutions to productivity challenges in crops such as cotton, where declining yields and high manual input costs have hurt competitiveness.
Human resource development emerged as another area of focus, with both sides noting shortages in mid-tier skills such as nurses, caregivers, technicians, and hospitality staff.
The KSA expressed openness to replicating vocational “train-to-deploy” models in Pakistan that link training programs directly with overseas employment opportunities.
The meeting also examined opportunities in building materials, pharmaceuticals, sports goods, footwear, and light manufacturing, with both sides agreeing to pursue sector-specific workshops and business-to-business engagements to translate policy alignment into tangible trade and investment flows.
