Overview
- Bilateral trade totaled $11.5 billion in 2024, with about $3.5 billion in Pakistani exports and roughly $8 billion in imports from ASEAN.
- The trade shortfall is increasing in 2025 despite steady engagement with the bloc.
- Commerce remains concentrated in five markets—Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.
- Pakistan’s shipments are heavily skewed toward textiles at about 68%, alongside rice, seafood, leather, house linens, cotton and other farm goods.
- Policy moves include an FTA with Malaysia, a PTA with Indonesia, talks on an FTA with Thailand and a PTA with Vietnam, plus a push for technology transfer, value addition and ASEAN investment in CPEC-linked SEZs as Pakistan pitches itself as a regional bridge.