Federal Minister for Commerce of Pakistan, H.E. Jam Kamal Khan, held a substantive and forward-looking meeting with Egypt’s Minister of Investment & Foreign Trade, H.E. Hassan El Khatib, on the sidelines of the D-8 Trade Ministers Council.
The discussions focused on expanding bilateral economic cooperation, exploring sectoral opportunities, and creating structured mechanisms for enhanced private-sector engagement between the two countries.
During the meeting, Federal Minister Jam Kamal Khan appreciated the remarkable development and infrastructure transformation he witnessed in Cairo, noting that the recent political goodwill between Pakistan and Egypt presents a strong foundation for a deeper economic partnership.
He emphasized Pakistan’s evolving economic narrative, highlighting significant similarities between the two nations’ development trajectories and shared priorities.
The Federal Minister underscored the importance of diversifying Pakistan’s export base, identifying key growth sectors such as textiles, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, ICT, and value-added industries as promising areas for collaboration.
He noted that Pakistan’s Prime Minister, H.E. Shahbaz Sharif, has directed focused efforts to develop the mining alien industry, particularly in critical minerals, where both domestic and international investors are actively participating.
Minister Khan highlighted the opportunities linked to allied industries including mineral logistics, power supply solutions, and technical services. He further appreciated the contribution of international EPC expertise in Pakistan’s mining landscape, which he said would generate a strong positive signaling effect for global investors.
Drawing attention to agriculture, the Minister acknowledged Pakistan’s ongoing expansion in the sector and noted that Pakistan could greatly benefit from Egypt’s advanced agricultural practices. He urged both sides to explore joint ventures to leverage complementary capacities.
Emphasizing new-age commerce, Minister Khan called for structured cooperation in e-commerce and proposed innovative trilateral production models—for instance, manufacturing components in Pakistan, further processing in Egypt, and jointly exporting to Europe and the U.S.
He also noted that similar triangular trade models could be developed for Pakistan’s market linkages with China, Central Asia, and ASEAN.
The Minister appreciated the rising trend of B2B collaborations and recent investments made by Pakistani companies in Egypt.
Minister Hassan El Khatib shared Egypt’s economic transformation journey, particularly the large-scale infrastructure investments undertaken since 2011–2014. He outlined key achievements including the development of new cities such as the New Administrative Capital, extensive railway modernization, port connectivity enhancements, and the establishment of nuclear power capability.
The Egyptian Minister highlighted the government’s long-term aim of increasing private-sector participation, while acknowledging global headwinds linked to the Gaza situation, the Ukraine conflict, and COVID-19.
He noted that Egypt’s shift toward inflation targeting has begun yielding positive outcomes compared to previous exchange-rate–focused regimes.
Minister El Khatib emphasized maritime cooperation, proposing mutual port access and storage facilities that would enable both countries to strengthen trade with North Africa, Europe, the U.S., China, ASEAN, and the broader region. He instructed that visa facilitation be included as a priority under the upcoming Joint Working Group (JWG).
He appreciated Minister Jam Kamal’s proposal for trilateral production and export models, and shared Egypt’s continent-wide strategy for North, South, East, and West Africa—particularly addressing shipping challenges, establishing Egypt as a logistics hub, and strengthening shipping line partnerships.
The Minister also highlighted Afrexim Bank’s trade insurance programs and local currency mechanisms, Egypt’s successful near-shoring of supply chains for auto parts, and its preferential trade agreements with more than 70 countries.
He outlined Egypt’s ambitions to deepen localization in manufacturing, expand renewable energy production, develop water desalination capacity, and move toward electric vehicle technologies.
Noting that digital transformation is essential for global competitiveness, he underscored that Egypt and Pakistan must invest in digital modernization to remain relevant. The Minister also introduced Egypt’s Economic Entities Program and said Pakistan could emerge as a highly attractive gateway platform for ASEAN markets.
Both ministers agreed to create dedicated groups to work on sector-specific cooperation, set concrete targets in identified priority areas, and evaluate progress through an active Joint Working Group framework.
They further agreed to consider a future ministerial visit to Pakistan after reviewing the JWG’s outcomes and progress.
The meeting concluded on a positive note, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to strengthening economic ties, enhancing business-to-business linkages, and unlocking new avenues of trade, investment, and joint sectoral development.
