RIYADH: The free trade agreement being negotiated between the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Pakistan is of great importance in advancing mutual economic and commercial interests, according to the organization’s secretary-general. Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi said potential deal is expected to play a pivotal role in strengthening the economic ties between the GCC states and Pakistan. During a phone call with Pakistan’s caretaker foreign minister, Jalil Abbas Jilani, Al-Budaiwi emphasized the importance of this agreement, which is set to be signed soon. He stated that it would substantially benefit both sides by promoting their common economic and commercial interests. The secretary-general and Jilani also discussed the strong bilateral relations between GCC countries and Pakistan, and how exploring ways to further develop these relations in various fields would be for the benefit of both parties. In March, senior Pakistani diplomats met with top GCC officials in the Saudi capital Riyadh to discuss the modalities of a free trade deal. The two sides signed a framework agreement to discuss the issue in August 2004, although only a few rounds of negotiations were held in the subsequent years. However, the GCC and Pakistan resumed talks in 2021. A year later, representatives held technical-level talks to examine the possibility of signing a free trade agreement, which would help Pakistan boost its exports to the six-country bloc, which includes Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait. Pakistan has been facing major economic challenges amid dwindling foreign exchange reserves and fast-depreciating national currency. While the country has been striving to secure external financing by negotiating with global lenders like the International Monetary Fund, it needs to increase its exports as a long-term solution to its financial problems. According to former Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Ali Awadh Al-Asseri, the Asian country has always prioritized economic, defense, and cultural relations with the Kingdom and other Gulf nations. “This historically rooted relationship is based on the common bonds of religion and culture, mutually beneficial economic needs, and shared strategic interests in regional stability and global peace,” Asseri said in his Arab News published in July. Pakistani industrialists and economists also believe the free trade agreement is vital for the country to increase multilateral trade volumes. “The FTA with GCC should have been signed much earlier because these are major economies, especially the UAE is our major trading partner, as our high-end imports are mostly coming from UAE,” Vaqar Ahmed, joint executive director at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, told Arab News in July 2022. Pakistan already has free trade agreements with China, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka.