Jakarta. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told Prabowo Subianto on Tuesday that he sought a more balanced bilateral trade as Islamabad remained largely in the red. 

Sharif is currently hosting Prabowo on his first-ever official trip to Islamabad. This was the first time for an Indonesian leader to set foot in the South Asian country since 2018. During the joint press briefing, Sharif admitted that it was “never too late” for Prabowo to visit Islamabad, referring to the seven-year gap. He then pointed out the multibillion-dollar trade deficit that his country had run when doing business with Indonesia.

“Our bilateral trade stands at $4.5 billion, but more than 90 percent represents imports from our brotherly country Indonesia -- that is palm oil. We have discussed how to take corrective measures,” Sharif said. 

He went on to say that Pakistan was looking to amplify its agricultural exports to narrow the gap. Islamabad is also offering what Sharif called “information technology-led initiatives”.

Prabowo said that he had ordered his ministers to “expedite the rebalancing of trade relations in practical means”. The retired army general stated that Jakarta wished to “move as fast as possible in all fields” of the cooperation.

The two governments inked a series of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) during Prabowo’s visit. One MoU revolved around halal trade and certification -- something that would likely ease the trade barriers in the two Muslim-majority economies. 

Trade Ministry data showed that Indonesia’s Pakistan-bound exports totaled $3.2 billion between January and October 2025. Overall bilateral trade amounted to $3.2 billion.

A similar trend occurred in 2024, during which the annual trade reached $4.1 billion. Indonesia’s exports at the time hit $3.5 billion, a huge chunk of which was indeed palm oil. Pakistan mainly exported wheat to Indonesia, with shipments worth $476 million. Southeast Asia's biggest economy also bought $18.2 million worth of Pakistani fruits last year.

A bilateral preferential trade agreement, which grants tariff reductions on certain goods, has been in place since 2012. In 2019, both countries made amendments to the accord to expand the list of items eligible for tariff cuts. Despite the changes, the trade relations continued to be heavily tilted in Jakarta's favor. The two governments had also engaged in talks to further upgrade the accord to a trade in goods agreement-level, which would be more comprehensive in nature.

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