Islamabad (TDI): Pakistan and Egypt have agreed to deepen their economic partnership by launching a new Pakistan–Egypt Business Council, a formal framework designed to expand trade, investment, and business-to-business (B2B) cooperation.
The initiative comes during the Egyptian Foreign Minister Dr. Badr Ahmed Mohamed Abdelatty’s two days official visit to Islamabad and marks a significant push to elevate bilateral economic ties beyond the current $300 million in trade.
As part of these efforts, Pakistan will share a list of 250 leading Pakistani companies with Egypt to fast-track private-sector collaboration.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the list includes firms from priority sectors identified by the FPCCI. Once reviewed by Egyptian authorities, these companies will be added to an official “whitelist” to streamline business procedures.
Dar also confirmed that another batch of 250 companies will be shared within three months, taking the total to 500 vetted enterprises.
Both countries reiterated their commitment to deepening relations and agreed to reactivate key institutional frameworks, including the Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) and the Annual Bilateral Consultations (ABC).
Dar said that once the new council becomes fully functional, a Pakistan–Egypt Business Forum will also be launched, jointly led by the foreign ministers of both countries.
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He also pointed out that the Pakistan–Egypt Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) last met in 2010, almost 15 years ago. Both sides have now agreed to hold the next JMC session in early 2026 to revive long-inactive institutional frameworks and accelerate collaboration in trade, investment, defense, culture, and health.
At a joint press briefing, Ishaq Dar and Egypt’s Abdelatty highlighted the importance of the new business council arrangement.
They said it would give Pakistani firms priority access under Egypt’s white-list program and open new channels for sector-specific cooperation.
The first meeting of the co-chaired Pakistan–Egypt Business Forum is scheduled to take place in Cairo in the second quarter of 2026.
Beyond trade, both countries discussed broader areas of cooperation, including agriculture, industry, education, cultural exchange, and defense collaboration.
They also emphasized the need for closer coordination on regional peace efforts and strengthening people-to-people ties.
Regarding education and cultural exchange, Dar shared that Egypt has agreed to double the scholarship slots for Pakistani students at Cairo’s prestigious Al-Azhar University.
Minahil Khurshid holds a Master's in Peace and Conflict Studies from NUST. She is passionate about current affairs, public policy, and geopolitics.
