The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to Romania, H.E. Ilyas Mehmood Nizami, met on Thursday, 24 September, with Mihai Daraban, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR), for talks focused on expanding bilateral trade, investment and connectivity between the two countries.
The meeting comes ahead of the Romania–Pakistan Business Forum, scheduled to take place in Bucharest on 6 October, alongside the visit of a Pakistani business delegation to Romania. The event will bring together representatives of the two countries’ business communities and is intended to provide a platform for identifying concrete areas of cooperation.
Romania as a Gateway to the European Market
One of the central themes of the discussions was Romania’s potential to serve as an entry point for Pakistani companies seeking access to the European Single Market.
According to the CCIR, 761 companies with Pakistani capital are currently operating in Romania. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania also maintains cooperation agreements with the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, while institutional ties have been further supported in recent years through reciprocal business missions.
Mihai Daraban highlighted Romania’s geographical position and the access it provides foreign investors to the European Union market. The CCIR President noted that the distance between the ports of Constanța and Karachi is approximately 4,600 nautical miles, corresponding to a sailing time of around 15 days.
“Romania is not only a market with potential of its own,” Daraban said, in the context of presenting the country as a potential hub for Pakistani companies seeking to expand their operations in Europe.
Constanța and Karachi Ports at the Centre of Bilateral Cooperation
The discussions also addressed the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 31 March 2026 between the National Company Maritime Ports Administration Constanța and Karachi Port Trust.
The agreement establishes a framework for cooperation in areas including port operations, engineering, technology, finance, maritime education and information exchange, with the aim of facilitating more efficient trade flows between South Asia and Europe.
For Romania, the Port of Constanța provides access to Central and Western European markets, including through its connections with the Danube. For Pakistan, Karachi is one of the country’s principal maritime gateways, while Pakistan’s broader infrastructure network can provide connectivity towards Central Asia and China.
Against this backdrop, Ambassador Ilyas Mehmood Nizami outlined the scale of the Pakistani market and the opportunities for companies from the two countries to develop mutually beneficial partnerships, including in the IT services sector. He also highlighted the investment opportunities offered by the Special Economic Zones being developed under the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Pakistan is also seeking to expand access to European markets for sectors including textiles, pharmaceuticals, leather goods, rice, fruit and vegetables, surgical instruments, sporting goods and meat products.
Ambassador Nizami noted that the current level of bilateral trade does not reflect the full potential of the two economies and that their complementary industries could provide a solid foundation for broader cooperation between Romanian and Pakistani companies.
6 October Business Forum to Advance Commercial Ties
The Romania–Pakistan Business Forum will take place at the CCIR Business Center in Bucharest, in the Aurel Ghibuțiu Hall. The event is scheduled to begin at 10:00, with registration opening at 09:30.
The forum follows a series of Romanian–Pakistani economic contacts throughout 2026. In June, the Embassy of Pakistan in Bucharest and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry discussed ways to intensify bilateral trade and strengthen direct engagement between the two business communities. During the same period, Ambassador Nizami also held consultations with the leadership of the Romanian Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade on investment opportunities, participation in trade fairs and the organisation of dedicated economic events.
The October forum is therefore expected to move the dialogue beyond the institutional level and towards direct business-to-business engagement, as Bucharest and Islamabad seek to translate port cooperation and the strategic geographical positions of the two countries into concrete commercial projects.
