In the current era of globalization, countries are forming trade pacts to increase economic growth and become more integrated into global value chains, which is driving global trade. Pakistan’s situation is similar since it is now pursuing many proposed FTAs (35) to access prospective markets for export diversification. This study aims to demonstrate potential avenues for enhancing trade relations between Pakistan and the ASEAN region. It is worth noting that Pakistan is pursuing a ‘Vision East Asia’ policy, which aims to enhance relationships with East Asian and ASEAN countries; in contrast, ASEAN members’ ‘Look West’ policy aims to engage economically with South Asian countries. Together, these two policies provide forth a thorough blueprint for Pakistan and ASEAN to cooperate toward a common goal and strengthen their bilateral relations. Currently, the two-way trade between the two is worth about USD 12bn.

Pakistan engages in substantial fish and fish product exports to many countries, including Japan, Thailand, China, Malaysia, the Middle East, and Sri Lanka. From 2015 to 2019, the country’s seafood exports increased from 128,081 tons to 205,752 tons. Significant growth in China’s imports of fisheries from Pakistan was observed subsequent to the implementation of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA), with values ascending from USD 24.64mn in 2006 to USD 91.78mn in 2019. This expansion can be attributed in part to Chinese firms operating in Pakistan. Moreover, the Thai enterprises possess the capacity to investigate collaborative partnerships within the fishing industry, specifically targeting the Halal food sector.

Based on the rationale and the fact that Pakistan is a significant provider of aquatic fauna, the ASEAN countries seem to be equally intrigued by the prospect of establishing trade relations that are complementary in nature. Pakistan has a great opportunity to capitalize on its comparative advantage in the export of seafood. Hence, the study will utilize methodologies like Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA), Export Product Dynamic (EPD), and X-Model, as adapted from (Luhur et al., 2019), to identify opportunities within the seafood sector and similar product categories.