Pakistan and Qatar map trade and investment agenda at second joint task force meeting

Pakistan and Qatar discussed a broad trade and investment agenda at their second Joint Task Force meeting in Doha, held on 24 October, according to a Pakistani government release dated 25 October. Commerce ministers Jam Kamal Khan and Ahmad bin Mohammed Al-Sayed co-chaired the meeting. The sides reviewed cooperation since the inaugural session in April 2026; the release reports discussions and requests, not newly concluded commercial contracts.

Pakistan asked Qatar to support early completion of the Pakistan–Gulf Cooperation Council free-trade agreement. Islamabad said it had completed domestic approvals and sent the approved text to the GCC Secretariat on 31 December 2025. Pakistan also raised Qatari restrictions on bone-in meat exports and said it had supplied a technical dossier on animal-health and food-safety requirements. The release does not say that either issue was resolved at the meeting.

Food security featured in proposals for a government-to-government rice supply arrangement between Pakistan’s Trading Corporation and Qatar’s Hassad Food. The proposal had been submitted to Pakistan’s federal cabinet for approval, so it was not described as a signed supply agreement. Pakistan also invited Qatari investment in grain storage, silos, cold storage, integrated cold chains and modern farming technologies.

The agenda extended to electric and other new-energy vehicles, joint manufacturing and technology transfer, alongside investment in information technology and digital infrastructure. On maritime links, Pakistan highlighted shipping and the security of oil tankers, LNG carriers and container vessels. It also presented the proposed Karachi–Hyderabad Motorway as a potential investment opportunity, saying it could link seaports with the national road network and support transit trade toward Central Asia.

The parties discussed activating 11 technical working groups identified at the first meeting, covering areas including logistics, aviation, manufacturing, minerals, agriculture, fintech and IT. At the close, the ministers signed minutes of that inaugural meeting—not a new free-trade agreement or the proposed rice MoU. The release records an agenda and follow-up framework, while concrete outcomes remain subject to later approvals and negotiations.