Ministers focus on pharmaceuticals, textiles, logistics as business bodies push B2B follow-up
Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Nimul, who is in Pakistan on an official visit, toured the FPCCI President’s Office along with her Pakistani counterpart Jam Kamal Khan. SOURCE: Jam Kamal on X
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan and Cambodia on Tuesday reviewed priority sectors and trade facilitation measures ahead of the second Pakistan-Cambodia Joint Trade Committee (JTC) session, scheduled to be held in Islamabad on February 10-11, 2026.
Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan held a pre-JTC bilateral meeting with Cambodia’s Minister of Commerce, Cham Nimul, to take stock of progress since the inaugural JTC session, which was held in Phnom Penh on January 21, 2025. Rana Ihsaan Afzal Khan, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Commerce, was also present, according to an official statement.
The two sides reaffirmed the JTC as the principal institutional forum for advancing trade, investment and broader economic cooperation between Pakistan and Cambodia. They reviewed opportunities to expand collaboration in priority areas including pharmaceuticals and healthcare products, textiles and value-added apparel, agriculture and agro-processing, as well as leather and light manufacturing.
Both ministers agreed on the need to strengthen business-to-business engagement through chambers of commerce and sector associations to ensure that policy discussions translate into commercial outcomes. They also exchanged views on improving trade facilitation and logistics connectivity to reduce costs and ensure more reliable supply chains, particularly for time-sensitive and high-volume exports.
Concluding the meeting, both sides expressed confidence that the upcoming JTC session would help identify priority sectors and practical deliverables to further strengthen bilateral economic ties.
Separately, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) hosted a business engagement in honour of the visiting Cambodian commerce minister to promote private-sector interaction.
Speaking at the event, the federal commerce minister referred to the recent challenges faced by Pakistan’s business community, including high inflation, elevated interest rates and foreign exchange volatility. He said the country’s immediate challenge was restoring growth, which depended on competitiveness, investment and fiscal space, and noted that the upcoming federal budget would be important for improving the cost and ease of doing business.
Kamal Khan said official trade diplomacy was increasingly being linked with structured B2B forums and sectoral matchmaking, citing recent engagements that had resulted in dozens of business agreements. He also outlined investment gaps in areas such as naphtha cracking, steel, pharmaceutical active ingredients, refineries and mineral processing.
In her remarks, Nimul said Cambodia was examining reforms to improve coordination among business associations and expressed interest in deeper chamber-to-chamber cooperation, even in the absence of a resident embassy. She highlighted complementarities in the textile sector and noted that pharmaceuticals and medical equipment constituted a major share of Cambodia’s imports from Pakistan.
FPCCI President Atif Ikram Sheikh said Pakistan-Cambodia trade relations carried untapped potential across several sectors and stressed the need for sustained follow-up to translate diplomatic engagement into measurable trade outcomes.
He added that FPCCI stands ready to facilitate B2B linkages, exhibitions, investment matchmaking and systematic follow-up with relevant stakeholders to expand bilateral trade volumes and market access.
