Businessman for prioritising Kuwait as emerging market
KARACHI: Mian Zahid Hussain, president of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum and the All Karachi Industrial Alliance as well as chairman of National Business Group Pakistan and the Policy Advisory Board of the FPCCI, has called for a two-tier export strategy for the GCC.
At the first level, Pakistan’s commercial presence in the UAE and Saudi Arabia should be further strengthened.
At the second level, separate export-recovery plans should be developed for Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Kuwait should be treated as an emerging market and prioritized through targeted trade delegations, buyer-seller meetings and the promotion of specific Pakistani products.
He further recommended an immediate product-level assessment of exports under the relevant HS codes to identify which commodities were driving growth in the UAE and Kuwait and which products were responsible for the decline in exports to Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that Pakistan’s export to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries remained resilient despite the uncertainty due to the US-Iran war.
But it continued to depend heavily on two markets.
Sustainable growth would require converting the June-July recovery into consistent export expansion and increasing Pakistan’s commercial presence across all six Gulf markets.
He said that Pakistan’s exports to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries increased by 2.1 percent during the period January-July 2026, reaching USD 1.944 billion compared with USD 1.904 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
He said that in the context of the US-Iran war, the increase of approximately USD 40 million was encouraging and demonstrated the continued importance of the Gulf countries in Pakistan’s external trade.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that Pakistan’s exports to the United Arab Emirates increased by 5.9 percent, from USD 1.209 billion to USD 1.280 billion.
The increase of USD 71.1 million in exports to the UAE was equivalent to approximately 178 percent of the total net increase of USD 40 million in Pakistan’s exports to the GCC.
He said that the UAE accounted for 65.9 percent of Pakistan’s total exports to the GCC, while Saudi Arabia contributed another 20.6 percent.
Together, the two major markets absorbed 86.5 percent of Pakistan’s total exports to the region, compared with approximately 84.3 percent during the corresponding period last year.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that exports to Saudi Arabia increased modestly by 1.4 percent to USD 401.1 million.
Kuwait recorded the highest percentage growth among GCC destinations, with exports rising by 14.7 percent from USD 62.7 million to USD 71.9 million.
Although Kuwait represented only 3.7 percent of Pakistan’s total GCC exports, its performance demonstrated that significant opportunities for additional exports existed in smaller Gulf markets through organised commercial engagement and the identification of new buyers.
Mian Zahid Hussain expressed concern over the slight decline in exports to Oman, Qatar and Bahrain.
He said that Pakistan’s total exports to the four GCC countries other than Saudi Arabia and the UAE declined by approximately 4.5 percent.
He said these figures proved that, contrary to the general perception that Pakistan’s relations with the UAE had declined, the overall increase in Pakistan’s GCC exports was primarily driven by the United Arab Emirates.
Therefore, despite the UAE’s politically cold posture, Pakistan should continue promoting an atmosphere of warmth, brotherhood and cooperation with the UAE.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that Pakistan’s monthly export performance also witnessed considerable volatility. Exports reached a seven-month peak of USD 323.2 million in February 2026 but subsequently declined to USD 298 million in March, USD 241 million in April and USD 240.7 million in May.
He said that a recovery began in June when exports increased to USD 259.5 million, followed by a further increase to USD 290.3 million in July.
July exports were 11.9 percent higher than June and 4.7 percent above July 2025.
However, they remained approximately 10.2 percent below the February peak. Therefore, the recent recovery was positive, but export growth would have to continue for several months to make it sustainable.
Mian Zahid Hussain appreciated the efforts of Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed AsimMunir to strengthen Pakistan’s diplomatic and economic relations with the Gulf countries.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026