Key takeaways
- More than five million Pakistanis work in GCC countries.
- Gulf investors are shifting from aid to energy, minerals, logistics and agriculture.
- Pakistan sits between Gulf capital and Asian production hubs.
- Joint vocational institutes and 'knowledge remittances' can build human capital.
- A Gulf-Pakistan growth compact needs transparency and policy continuity from Islamabad.
In this Minute Mirror column (November 2025), Dr. Ghulam Mohey-ud-din argues that Pakistan’s relationship with the Gulf economies can help it move from survival economics to long-term resilience, if the relationship changes shape.
The argument
The foundations already exist. More than five million Pakistanis work in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and their remittances support the balance of payments. Gulf investors, meanwhile, are moving from financial support towards commercial investment in energy, minerals, logistics and agriculture, with projects such as refinery and logistics-corridor proposals showing the new template.
Pakistan’s geography is an asset. It sits between Gulf financial centres and Asian production hubs, and could serve as a trade and logistics corridor if its industrial zones and ports were aligned with Gulf economic diversification plans. That alignment could attract long-term sovereign wealth fund capital. Emerging sectors, including the blue economy, fintech, e-commerce and women’s entrepreneurship, offer further room for partnership.
The column also proposes a shift from financial to “knowledge remittances”: joint vocational institutes, professional exchanges and scholarships that build skills rather than only sending wages home.
None of this works without domestic reform. Expanding tax revenue, digitising government and investing in education and technology are the preconditions for partners to commit long-term capital.
What needs to change
- A Gulf-Pakistan growth compact built on joint ventures and long-term investment.
- Governance transparency and policy continuity from Islamabad.
- Joint vocational training institutes with Gulf partners.
- Positioning Pakistan as a logistics hub linking regional corridors.
- A shift from aid-based to trade-based partnership.