World

Pakistan's trade gap with Gulf partners narrows

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s trade deficit with Gulf partner countries narrowed 26.35 per cent to $2.85bn in the first quarter of 2026-27 against $3.87bn a year earlier, largely due to lower imports and moderately higher exports. The steepest declines were 97.46pc and 72.51pc in import payments to Kuwait and Qatar. These two countries accounted for $947.923 million of the gross decline in import payments, partly offset by the substantial increase in imports from Oman. On the export side, the UAE accoun