Economic cooperation between Pakistan and Canada gains momentum
Islamabad ,Sept 26,2026: Renewed economic engagement between Pakistan and Canada is creating fresh opportunities for long-term joint ventures in mining, agriculture, renewable energy and value-added industries, with recent investment data indicating growing Canadian interest in Pakistan.
The two countries agreed on September 15 to accelerate negotiations on a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA), with another round expected in early October. Experts say the renewed momentum could be translated into sustained investment by developing a stronger pipeline of bankable projects and ensuring greater regulatory predictability for investors.
Recent investment data also point to growing Canadian interest. State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data for August 2026 show Canada contributed around $50 million in net foreign direct investment, making it the second-largest source that month after China.
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), the federal department that tracks Canadian mining and mineral exploration assets, reported that 747 Canadian companies held C$240.6 billion in mining assets abroad in 2024 across 95 countries, highlighting the considerable pool of internationally deployed Canadian mining capital that Pakistan could seek to attract through well-prepared and commercially viable projects.
Speaking to Wealth Pakistan, Qaiser Abbas Qamar, Research Associate at Research and Development Solutions (RADS), Islamabad, said Pakistan’s central challenge was not a shortage of investment opportunities but its ability to provide the regulatory and commercial predictability required by long-term investors.
Mining, agriculture and renewable-energy ventures often involve large upfront investments and long operating periods, he said, making stability in taxation and regulation, licensing procedures, contract enforcement, foreign-exchange availability and profit repatriation critical to investment decisions.
Where projects require approvals from several agencies and timelines remain uncertain, even commercially attractive opportunities can become difficult to finance, Qamar added.
He said Pakistan should therefore move from broad investment promotion towards a more rules-based and time-bound system.
While concluding FIPA could provide greater certainty in bilateral investment, domestic reforms remained equally important.
Qamar called for clearly published approval requirements and processing timelines, alongside sector-specific frameworks covering mining licences and royalties, agricultural standards and renewable-energy arrangements.
More importantly, he said Pakistan needed to move from advertising investment potential to presenting Canadian companies with investment-ready projects.
Such projects should have feasibility studies, regulatory status, land requirements, financing needs and potential local partners identified before being marketed to international investors, he said. Bilateral business forums could then help connect those projects with Canadian companies, financiers and technology providers.
The need for project preparation is particularly evident in mining, where investors require reliable geological information and a clear route from exploration to commercial production.
Abdul Haq Mengal, Mining Engineer at the Balochistan Mineral Exploration Company (BMEC), told Wealth Pakistan that Pakistan needed to convert its mineral prospects into properly explored and technically credible projects.
International investors require dependable geological and exploration data before committing substantial capital, he said, along with clarity on licensing, environmental approvals, land access, security arrangements and other government procedures.
Mengal said a clear pathway from an exploration licence through detailed exploration and feasibility studies to financing and mine development would reduce uncertainty and strengthen investor confidence.
He added that joint ventures with Canadian companies should extend beyond mineral extraction.
Such partnerships could combine Pakistani mineral rights and local knowledge with Canadian capital, exploration expertise and technology, while also developing local processing, technical skills and downstream value addition.
Omar Ashraf, an international trade and mining professional, told Wealth Pakistan that Canadian cooperation could also help address weaknesses in mineral testing, exploration technology and project evaluation.
He identified modern mineral-testing laboratories and advanced exploration technologies as areas where Canadian expertise could strengthen Pakistan’s mining ecosystem.
Ashraf also saw potential for partnerships at the small and medium-sized project level, particularly where businesses move beyond excavation towards beneficiation, product development and marketing.
He said independent geological and technical evaluation would be important for establishing the commercial credibility of prospective projects and turning them into bankable investment propositions.
For Pakistan, therefore, the next step is not simply to identify more sectors for Canadian investment but to make existing opportunities investable. Experts say predictable rules, credible technical preparation and commercially structured projects will determine whether renewed bilateral engagement translates into sustained joint ventures, technology transfer and greater domestic value addition.
