ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan has urged Oman to expand the reach of its deep-water port and free zone by connecting it through Pakistan to Central Asia and China to enhance regional trade cooperation, Khan’s ministry said on Tuesday.
The statement came during Khan’s three-day official visit to Oman where he spent his first day in the industrial hub of Sohar to discuss bilateral trade, investment and industrial collaboration between the South Asian nation and the Middle Eastern state.
Pakistan aims to leverage its strategic geopolitical position to enhance its role as a key trade and transit hub connecting landlocked Central Asian republics with the rest of the world. In recent months, there has been a surge of visits, investment talks and economic activity involving Gulf and Middle Eastern nations.
During his visit to Sohar Port, the Pakistani commerce minister was given a detailed briefing on the port’s state-of-the-art facilities and its role as a major trade and logistics hub.
“He emphasized the potential for enhanced trade cooperation, particularly in expanding Sohar Port and Free Zone’s reach through Pakistan to Central Asia and China,” the Pakistani commerce ministry said in a statement, following Khan’s meeting with Omani officials.
Khan, who was accompanied by Pakistan’s ambassador to Oman Naveed Safdar Bokhari and other officials, was presented with an overview of the integrated free economic zone and industrial city, highlighting Sohar Port’s strategic role in handling 80 percent of Oman’s international trade and industrial activities.
The commerce minister urged joint ventures between Pakistani and Omani businesses during his meeting with industrialists and business leaders.
“The minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to boosting trade with Oman, particularly in the industrial and logistics sectors,” the commerce ministry said.
Later, Khan was taken on a city tour where he offered prayers at the iconic Sultan Qaboos Mosque in Sohar.
Last August, Islamabad invited Oman to invest in Pakistan’s agriculture, mineral and IT sectors through the Special Investment Facilitation Council, a Pakistani civil-military body aimed at attracting foreign investment.
The South Asian nation has been making efforts to boost foreign investment in order to reduce its reliance on foreign debt to support its fragile $350 billion economy. There has recently been a surge in economic engagements between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and other nations.
Islamabad urges Oman to expand deep-water port’s reach to Pakistan to enhance regional trade
https://arab.news/vtqm6
Islamabad urges Oman to expand deep-water port’s reach to Pakistan to enhance regional trade
- The development comes during Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan’s official visit to Oman
- The minister reaffirms Pakistan’s commitment to boosting trade in industrial, logistics sectors
IMF warns against policy slippage amid weak recovery as it clears $1.2 billion for Pakistan
- Pakistan rebuilt reserves, cut its deficit and slowed inflation sharply over the past one year
- Fund says climate shocks, energy debt, stalled reforms threaten stability despite recent gains
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economic recovery remains fragile despite a year of painful stabilization measures that helped pull the country back from the brink of default, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Thursday, after it approved a fresh $1.2 billion disbursement under its ongoing loan program.
The approval covers the second review of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of its climate-focused Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), bringing total disbursements since last year to about $3.3 billion.
Pakistan entered the IMF program in September 2024 after years of weak revenues, soaring fiscal deficits, import controls, currency depletion and repeated climate shocks left the economy close to external default. A smaller stopgap arrangement earlier that year helped avert immediate default, but the current 37-month program was designed to restore macroeconomic stability through strict monetary tightening, currency adjustments, subsidy rationalization and aggressive revenue measures.
The IMF’s new review shows that Pakistan has delivered significant gains since then. Growth recovered to 3 percent last year after shrinking the year before. Inflation fell from over 23 percent to low single digits before rising again after this year’s floods. The current account posted its first surplus in 14 years, helped by stronger remittances and a sharp reduction in imports. And the government delivered a primary budget surplus of 1.3 percent of GDP, a key program requirement. Foreign exchange reserves, which had dropped dangerously low in 2023, rose from US$9.4 billion to US$14.5 billion by June.
“Pakistan’s reform implementation under the EFF arrangement has helped preserve macroeconomic stability in the face of several recent shocks,” IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke said in a statement after the Board meeting.
But he warned that Islamabad must “maintain prudent policies” and accelerate reforms needed for private-sector-led and sustainable growth.
The Fund noted that the 2025 monsoon floods, affecting nearly seven million people, damaging housing, livestock and key crops, and displacing more than four million, have set back the recovery. The IMF now expects GDP growth in FY26 to be slightly lower and forecasts inflation to rise to 8–10 percent in the coming months as food prices adjust.
The review warns Pakistan against relaxing monetary or fiscal discipline prematurely. It urges the State Bank to keep policy “appropriately tight,” allow exchange-rate flexibility and improve communication. Islamabad must also continue raising revenues, broadening the tax base and protecting social spending, the Fund said.
Despite the progress, Pakistan’s structural weaknesses remain severe.
Power-sector circular debt stands at about $5.7 billion, and gas-sector arrears have climbed to $11.3 billion despite tariff adjustments. Reform of state-owned enterprises has slowed, including delays in privatizing loss-making electricity distributors and Pakistan International Airlines. Key governance and anti-corruption reforms have also been pushed back.
The IMF welcomed Pakistan’s expansion of its flagship Benazir Income Support Program, which raises cash transfers for low-income families and expands coverage, saying social protection is essential as climate shocks intensify. But it warned that high public debt, about 72 percent of GDP, thin external buffers and climate exposure leave the country vulnerable if reform momentum weakens.
The Fund said Pakistan’s challenge now is to convert short-term stabilization into sustained recovery after years of economic volatility, with its ability to maintain discipline, rather than the size of external financing alone, determining the durability of its gains.
