Overview
Pakistan is a South Asian country and an important regional player neighbouring Afghanistan, Iran, India and China, with a population of approximately 250 million inhabitants.
As the world’s largest beneficiary of the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preference Plus (GSP+), the EU is Pakistan’s largest export destination.
Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and strengthening climate resilience and accelerating the green transition are at the heart of the EU-Pakistan partnership.
With Pakistan being a country of origin, transit and destination for migrants, it has a close partnership with the EU on migration.
Our partnership
The EU invests in green inclusive growth, skills for youth, and improving governance. This commitment aligns with Pakistan's National Economic Transformation Plan (Uraan Pakistan) and the EU's Global Gateway Strategy, with a specific geographical focus on the regions of Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which border Afghanistan.
The EU has allocated €265 million in bilateral grant funding to Pakistan for the 2021-24 period and an additional €135 million for 2025-2027. The Team Europe approach in Pakistan unifies efforts from the EU, Germany, France, and Italy to “build back better through green jobs creation”. Pakistan also benefits from the Regional Team Europe Initiative on the Afghan displacement situation gathering 12 EU Member States and relevant Commission Services.
EU-Pakistani partnership documents can be found in the 'Related documents' section below.
Our key initiatives
- Climate resilient green growth
The EU works closely with Pakistan on green growth as part of the Global Gateway flagship project ‘Climate Resilient Infrastructure and Green Jobs Creation’. Cooperation covers a wide range of issues from the provision of renewable energy to off-grid rural communities to skilling youth for decent work. Specific activities include:
- Investing in renewable energy (solar, hydropower) in Khyber Pakhtunkwa and Gilgit Baltistan.
- Investing in the climate resilient economic recovery and reconstruction of rural areas after flooding, including climate resilient housing, SME development, improved irrigation systems, and afforestation programmes.
- Increasing preservation and access to clean drinking water in the largest cities in Punjab and Sindh, including resilience to climate change of water and sanitation.
- Improving the sustainability and inclusivity of agricultural value chains, and markets.
- Supporting the overall sustainability, inclusivity, and access to skills for small agri-businesses.
- Making Pakistan’s small businesses more competitive and green facilitating its exports.
- Strengthen the country’s governance, ensuring that development is fair and inclusive.
- Establishing a network between EU and Pakistani businesses.
- Strengthening Pakistan’s public finance management system and paving the way for a mature investment project pipeline.
- Migration
The EU considers Pakistan a priority country on the subject of migration. Our cooperation is diverse and covers both addressing irregular migration to Europe as well as supporting legal pathways for skilled Pakistani to work in Europe through the “Talent Partnership”. Specific projects include:
- Sustainably reintegrating Pakistani returnees from the EU and transit countries in a gender-responsive, disability sensitive manner.
- Improving avenues through which legal immigration can contribute to Pakistan’s development through the EU-Pakistan Talent Partnership.
- Studying regional migration trends and improving migration management throughout South and Central Asia.
- Fighting human trafficking and smuggling in the region.
- Supporting durable solutions for displaced Afghans and their host communities through enhanced protection space, advocacy, increased access to livelihoods opportunities and basic services including health and education, and improved migration management.
- Investing in integrated border management.
- Human capital development and youth
As part of EU-Pakistani cooperation through the Global Gateway initiative, special focus is being given to youth, education/TVET, CSO and social protection. Specific actions include:
- Investing in skills development, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) - including the development of dedicated TVET centres of excellence - and job creation, including for returning and prospective migrants.
- Supporting youth-oriented civil society organisations, notably on skills development, inclusion in policy making, gender equality and human rights.
- Improving the living conditions and climate resilience of vulnerable communities in Sindh through social protection mechanisms.
- Governance
The EU is supporting Pakistan in the areas of rule of law, human rights, and gender equality, fostering stability as well as Pakistan’s continued adherence to the international agreements that underpin the GSP+ . Specific actions include:
- Strengthening rule of law through citizen-oriented policing and legal services, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, legal aid, and building up the resilience of the criminal justice system.
- Funding human rights institutions and offering dedicated grants on freedom of expression and belief.
- Strengthening gender equality organisations and supporting key women leaders.
- Improving dialogue between the Pakistani government and civil society organisations.
- Improving public financial management.
- Humanitarian aid
The EU continues to provide humanitarian aid in flood and/or conflict affected areas. That includes food and nutrition services, as well as funding for the recovery of affected areas. Through its ongoing work on the Team Europe Humanitarian Peace Development Nexus it aims to improve synergies between the EU’s humanitarian and development strands
