FPCCI proposes joint halal standards as ASEAN envoys meet Sindh CM

Two-way trade between Pakistan and ASEAN runs at $11-12 billion a year, but Pakistani exports are under $1.5 billion while imports from the bloc exceed $10 billion, FPCCI Senior Vice President Saquib Fayyaz Magoon said at a roundtable in Karachi, Business Recorder reported.

Magoon told the Pakistan-ASEAN Business Roundtable at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry that this imbalance is itself the opening. He proposed that Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia jointly develop halal certification and standards to compete in a global halal market he put at $7 trillion.

He described ASEAN as a market of 680 million people with a combined GDP above $4 trillion, the world's fifth largest economy. Pakistan has been a sectoral dialogue partner of the grouping since 1993.

The FPCCI proposals include a joint business forum with the chamber as its secretariat from the Pakistani side and ASEAN chambers on the other, meeting every year with working groups on IT, textiles, agri-food, halal and small businesses. Magoon also suggested a Pakistan-ASEAN trade expo in Karachi, single-country ASEAN exhibitions at FPCCI, and Pakistani pavilions at fairs in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. He said the chamber would launch a B2B portal for trade inquiries and run an exchange programme for young and women entrepreneurs.

He said Pakistan offers 240 million consumers, tax incentives in CPEC special economic zones and fast-track facilitation for foreign investors through the SIFC. FPCCI has asked the Foreign Office to support early conclusion of the Pakistan-Indonesia and Pakistan-Malaysia preferential trade agreement reviews, and to begin PTA negotiations with the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Philippine Ambassador Emmanuel R. Fernandez told the roundtable that the centre of global trade is shifting towards Asia and that there is wide room to raise trade between Pakistan and ASEAN, according to Business Recorder.

Abad Hanif Gohar, the chairman, said the two sides have to move past traditional trade into newer sectors, and that the shortage of visa facilities is a major obstacle. He asked ASEAN countries to ease visas for Pakistani businesspeople.

Separately, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah met a delegation of ambassadors and diplomats from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam and the Philippines at the Chief Minister's House in Karachi, Daily Times reported. Fernandez led the delegation. Provincial ministers and senior officials attended.

Murad listed agriculture, food processing, pharmaceuticals, information technology, energy and mining, manufacturing, logistics and tourism as open sectors, and pointed to Karachi's ports and industrial base. He said trade with the Philippines, whose diplomatic ties with Pakistan date to 1949, could rise to $500 million, and referred to the second Pakistan-Philippines Joint Economic Commission meeting held in Manila on February 19, 2026. He directed the provincial investment department to facilitate investors and supply business information.