Islamabad: The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) has urged the federal government to launch a dedicated “Middle East Recovery Mission” under the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to help Pakistan secure a greater share of the Gulf region’s estimated USD 1.5tn project and reconstruction market.
In a policy paper titled Capturing the Middle East Recovery: From Labour Export to Contract Export, PIDE said Pakistan should move beyond its traditional reliance on labour exports by enabling local companies to compete for contracts, expand service exports and integrate into regional supply chains across the Middle East.
The report noted that the Gulf’s project and reconstruction pipeline is expected to exceed USD 1.5tn during the current decade, driven by Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and reconstruction efforts in Syria, Gaza and Lebanon. It said Pakistan has yet to establish a significant presence in these commercial opportunities.
According to the report, Pakistan exported goods worth USD 3.79bn to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in FY2025, while imports from the region reached approximately USD 17.9bn. During 2025, more than 762,000 Pakistanis secured overseas employment, with nearly 61% classified as unskilled workers.
To strengthen Pakistan’s economic engagement with the Gulf, PIDE proposed establishing five permanent desks within the SIFC covering labour and skills certification, exports and supply chains, investment and contracts, defence-industrial cooperation, and migrant protection. It said the initiative should build on existing institutions rather than creating a new authority.
The institute also recommended certifying and insuring workers before overseas deployment, strengthening the capacity of Pakistani firms in construction, logistics, healthcare, information technology and facilities management, and introducing a Gulf Worker ID linked with NADRA, banking services, insurance and skills certification.
In addition, PIDE proposed launching a Pakistan Development Bond to mobilise overseas Pakistanis’ savings for productive investment.
The report estimated that the proposed mission could generate an additional USD 2bn-4bn in annual external inflows by its third year, rising to more than USD 5bn annually by the fifth year through higher-skilled remittances, increased exports, contract earnings and defence-industrial collaboration.
PIDE urged the government to designate the SIFC as the central coordinating body for the initiative, approve a 90-day implementation roadmap and ensure transparent, independently audited execution.
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