Economic benefits of Makkah pact essential for country: analyst
KARACHI: The Makkah Defence Pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye is highly appreciable and a tremendous achievement. This pact could further strengthen strategic trust among the three brotherly countries, said Ateequr Rehman, an economic and financial analyst.
The economic benefits of this pact were essential for Pakistan.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have strong trade relations, but the trade balance is heavily in Saudi Arabia’s favor because Pakistan imported much more from Saudi Arabia than it exported. In 2026 Pakistan export to KSA was approximately USD 687 million, import was approximately USD 4.06 billion. Therefore the trade deficit was of approximately USD 3.37 billion. The gap was massive.
Moreover, Pakistan exported approximately USD 38.2 million and imported approximately USD 38.3 million from Turkey, resulting in a negative trade balance of USD 109,000. An immediate trade development between Pakistan and Turkiye was inevitable.
He said that Pakistan did have a wide range of products that could compete in Saudi Arabian and Turkish markets.
Another major business relation was logistics and shipping, maritime transportation, aviation and sustainable supply chain.
The government of Pakistan was planning to enhance ICT exports and expand the ICT footprints in the international market to the tune of USD 25.1 billion by 2030. Saudi Arabia and Turkiye could benefit by Pakistan’s maximum facilitation of information and communications technology, said Ateeq.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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