Pakistan to double exports in 3-5 years, targeting GCC market: FinMin

Our ambition is that we are roughly about $30 billion plus in terms of exports, shares Muhammad Aurangzeb.

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Pakistan plans to double its exports within the next three to five years, with a particular focus on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) market, according to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.

Speaking to Asharq Business and Bloomberg during his visit to Saudi Arabia for the Alula Conference for Emerging Market Economies 2025, Aurangzeb outlined the country’s ambitions to significantly boost its international trade.

“Our ambition is that we are roughly about $30 billion plus in terms of exports, and we want to double in the next three to five years,” Aurangzeb stated, emphasising the importance of the GCC market, which includes Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman, for Pakistan’s export strategy.

He highlighted that the government has been focusing on macroeconomic stability, which has led to a more favourable environment for trade and investment.

“Going forward, I see GCC as a huge export potential market,” he said, adding that Pakistan is taking steps to create business-to-business collaborations through memorandums of understanding and the establishment of special economic zones to attract foreign investment.

The country's economy has shown signs of stabilisation, with inflation easing to 2.41 per cent in January, creating room for the State Bank of Pakistan to lower borrowing rates by 1,000 basis points since June 2024. This has helped the country prepare for a growth rate of 2.5 to 3.5 per cent for the current fiscal year ending in June.

“We want to consolidate and use the fiscal space available to prioritise expenditures that can help our growth trajectory,” Aurangzeb concluded, signalling the government’s determination to leverage its economic improvements to fuel future growth.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the country’s exports stood at $30.7 billion by the end of the last fiscal year in June 2024, reflecting an 11 percent increase from the previous year’s $27.7 billion.

In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, exports rose by 10 percent, reaching $19.6 billion, compared to $17.8 billion in the same period in 2023.