Manama, November 25, 2025: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said Pakistan and Bahrain have the potential to boost bilateral trade from the current $550 million to $1 billion over the next three years.
The prime minister made the remarks during a meeting with Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at Al-Qudaibiya Palace in Manama.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the two sides discussed expanding economic cooperation, with PM Shehbaz expressing confidence that the Pakistan–GCC Free Trade Agreement — now in its finalisation stage — along with recently eased visa requirements, would help accelerate trade.
The premier invited Bahraini investors to explore opportunities in food security, IT, construction, mines and minerals, healthcare, renewable energy and tourism. He also proposed enhancing port-to-port connectivity between Karachi and Gwadar with Khalifa Bin Salman Port to support maritime and commercial linkages.
PM Shehbaz congratulated Bahrain on securing a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2026–27 term and assured Pakistan’s full cooperation during its tenure.
He also acknowledged Bahrain’s longstanding support for the more than 150,000 Pakistanis living in the kingdom and reaffirmed Islamabad’s readiness to provide additional skilled manpower. Both sides welcomed deeper collaboration in higher education, technical training and digital governance, including through the King Hamad University initiative. The prime minister also thanked the Bahraini leadership for facilitating the release and repatriation of Pakistani nationals.
The statement added that defence and security cooperation featured prominently in the talks, with both sides agreeing to expand collaboration in training, cybersecurity, defence production and information sharing.
PM Shehbaz and the crown prince also discussed the situation in Gaza and agreed that lasting peace and stability for the people of Gaza was long overdue.
The meeting concluded with both sides expressing confidence that the engagements would lead to concrete progress across strategic, economic, security and people-to-people domains.
Upon arrival at the palace, PM Shehbaz was presented with a guard of honour. He is on a two-day official visit to Bahrain, accompanied by a delegation including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani and other officials.
