The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has launched a new Pakistan-Portugal business cooperation initiative with Porto Business School (PBS), of the University of Porto, aimed at strengthening trade, investment and business links between the two countries.
The framework was developed in partnership with BIL Consultancy (Private) Limited, which will act as PBS’s authorised representative and implementation coordinator in Pakistan.
The agreement was formalised at Chamber House in Islamabad, where ICCI President Sardar Tahir Mahmood and BIL Group Chairman Mohammad Tauseef Zaman exchanged the signed cooperation documents. BIL Consultancy Director Chaudhry Javed Sabir, ICCI Senior Vice President Tahir Ayub and Vice President Muhammad Irfan Chaudhry were also present.
Under the initiative, Porto Business School will provide academic and technical leadership, develop the programme curriculum and deliver in-person components in Portugal, while facilitating access to European academic, institutional and business networks.
BIL Consultancy will lead market development in Pakistan, working with chambers of commerce, companies and public institutions to mobilise participants and coordinate implementation. ICCI will engage its business community to identify companies, facilitate business-to-business contacts and organise briefings, roundtables and other business events.
The programme aims to connect executive education with concrete commercial opportunities, giving Pakistani business leaders access to institutional visits, trade delegations, business matchmaking and market-entry support in Portugal and other European markets.
Planned sector tracks include mining and critical minerals, IT and artificial intelligence, sustainability and ESG, clean energy, manufacturing, textiles, export development, entrepreneurship and financial readiness.
The initiative also seeks to revitalise the Pakistan-Portugal Agreement on the Mutual Promotion and Protection of Investments, signed in Islamabad in April 1995 and which entered into force in November 1996.
The move follows the fourth round of Pakistan-Portugal Bilateral Political Consultations, held in Islamabad on 15 July 2026, where officials identified trade and investment, renewable energy, IT, education and business-to-business cooperation as priority areas for closer bilateral ties.
Source: The Diplomatic Insight
