Pak, GCC Free Trade Agreement Signed

October 3, 2023

Pakistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have successfully concluded the final round of negotiations for the Pakistan-GCC Free Trade Agreement (PAK-GCC FTA) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as per a press statement released on Friday. The conclusive negotiations, which took place from September 26th to September 28th, 2023, at the GCC Headquarters in Riyadh, represent a significant milestone in economic cooperation between the two sides.

The statement underlines the historic nature of this FTA, as it marks the first agreement of its kind that the GCC has engaged in with any country since 2009. Dr. Gohar Ejaz, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Commerce and Industry, highlighted the nation’s strong relations with GCC countries and expressed the belief that this FTA would align economic ties with these robust diplomatic relationships.

To commemorate the successful conclusion of negotiations, a joint statement was signed by Dr. Gohar Ejaz and H.E. Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, the Secretary-General of GCC. Both parties eagerly anticipate the prompt signing, ratification, and implementation of the agreement, which promises to usher in a new era in economic relations between them. Following this, the agreement will undergo an internal administrative and approval process before officially entering into force.