TRCC News
Pakistan in a New Light: TRCC at Pakistan Business Connect 2026
Representatives of the Thai-Russian Chamber of Commerce joined TPCC's business evening in Bangkok, where trade and investment shared the stage with tourism, cultural heritage and the people bringing Thailand and Pakistan closer together.
An evening that opened up a different view of Pakistan
On 11 November 2026, Pakistan Business Connect 2026 - TPCC Networking Night Bangkok brought diplomats, entrepreneurs and business associations together at Amari Watergate Hotel Bangkok. Hosted by the Thai-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce (TPCC), led by President Abdul Ghaffar Warsi, the evening welcomed representatives of TRCC among its guests.There were two milestones to celebrate: TPCC's 21st anniversary and 75 years of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Pakistan. According to the organisers, representatives of more than 40 leading Thai companies joined the programme, alongside government representatives, investors and leaders of foreign chambers.
The discussions also raised a more personal question: how well do we know the country we hope to do business with? A tourism film shown during the evening offered a fresh perspective on Pakistan, with mountain landscapes, remarkable roads and places that invite a closer look.
Seventy-five years of relations, with more to discover
H.E. Ms. Saadia Altaf Qazi, Ambassador of Pakistan to Thailand, attended the evening. In the following speech, Mr. Songsang Pathavanich referred to her invitation to visit Pakistan and spoke warmly about his own visits to the country's north. His remarks echoed the interest in tourism recalled by an attendee.The anniversary also has a wider cultural dimension. In a separate meeting on 5 November, reported by Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Secretary Sirilak Niyom discussed economic and cultural relations, including plans for an exhibition of Gandhara artefacts in Thailand in 2027. That initiative provides useful context for the evening's interest in heritage and travel.
For TPCC, the event was also an occasion to recognise the people sustaining these relationships. The Chamber reported that Long Achievement and Performance Awards were presented to members of its Executive Committee. President Abdul Ghaffar Warsi and his team brought together people well placed to turn mutual interest into working relationships.
Chutintorn Gongsakdi: creating opportunities together
Mr. Chutintorn Gongsakdi, Trade Representative of the Government of Thailand, drew on his diplomatic experience to discuss trade in practical, human terms. Predictable conditions matter to investors, he argued, while partnerships need to give both sides room to grow.He encouraged participants to look beyond disputes over the trade balance and consider what the two countries could create together. He identified logistics and cold-storage services in Pakistan, processing activities, stronger production links and access to Central Asian markets as areas worth exploring.
Hospitality and tourism projects in northern Pakistan also featured in his remarks, alongside the potential of the country's historic Buddhist heritage sites. Tourism thus formed a concrete part of the business discussion. Turning these ideas into practical projects, he stressed, calls for face-to-face engagement and a direct dialogue between businesses and government.
From introductions to lasting partnerships
Mrs. Vibeke Lyssand Leirvåg, Chairwoman of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand (JFCCT), linked successful international business to respect for a partner's culture, clear rules and reliable information. She highlighted food and halal products, textiles, the digital economy, tourism and joint ventures. The value of an evening like this, she suggested, lies in the meaningful partnerships that follow the introductions.Mr. Songsang Pathavanich, President of the Thai-Pakistani Business Council, recalled his visits to Pakistan and encouraged greater travel from Thailand. He noted Pakistan's strengths in sporting goods, medical equipment and textiles, alongside Thailand's automotive components and food industries. Trade negotiations were discussed as an important area for further work.
Thai voices and connections across generations
Thai speakers included Mr. Sawap Phaopratan, Vice President of the Central Islamic Council of Thailand, and Mr. Watcharapol Komontamatee, President of the Foundation of the Islamic Centre of Thailand.Across the recorded Thai-language contributions, speakers discussed involving younger generations in the Chamber, business contacts across Thailand's provinces and assistance after natural disasters. Accounts of trading with and visiting Pakistan brought up practical issues such as tariffs, transport costs and finding direct suppliers, as well as opportunities for tourism.
From smart farming to hospitality
Mr. Viboon Supakarapongkul, Director of Foreign Investment at Charoen Pokphand Foods, also participated in the programme.Mr. Yousaf Rizvi, representing the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Pakistan Muay Thai Federation, drew on his experience in education, aviation, tourism and sport. He invited entrepreneurs to visit Pakistan and explore investment and joint ventures in hospitality.
Smart farming and food production
A further contribution, delivered on behalf of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, explored smart farming: using data, precision irrigation and technology to make better use of resources. Agritech, cold-chain logistics, food processing and packaging were identified as potential investment areas. The speaker is not identified in the available recording.The trade picture, through TRCC's data
TRCC's Trade Statistics section, drawing on data from Thailand's Ministry of Commerce (MOC), puts bilateral merchandise trade in 2025 at US$1.565 billion, up 26.0% on 2024.In January-September 2026, trade reached US$1.239 billion, 3.1% above the same nine months of 2025. The two directions moved differently: Thailand's exports to Pakistan rose 16.1%, while Thailand's imports from Pakistan fell 36.2%. The overall increase therefore needs to be read alongside the composition of the flows.
Thailand's leading export groups included motor vehicles and parts, rubber products, plastics, machinery and man-made staple fibres. Its largest import groups from Pakistan included fish and aquatic animals, knitted clothing, and mineral fuels and oils. These flows help explain the interest in production links, processing and cold-chain logistics. The figures cover merchandise; they do not measure tourism or other services.
Full calendar years: 2021-2025
January-September of each year: 2022-2026
Leading commodity groups - January-September 2026
Values in US$ million; shares of all HS2 groups in each direction.Thailand’s exports to Pakistan
HS 87 · Motor vehicles and parts: 249.08 · 23.8%
HS 40 · Rubber and rubber articles: 116.91 · 11.2%
HS 39 · Plastics and plastic articles: 90.00 · 8.6%
HS 84 · Machinery and mechanical equipment: 79.89 · 7.6%
HS 55 · Man-made staple fibres: 75.85 · 7.2%
Source and export ranking
Thailand’s imports from Pakistan
HS 03 · Fish and aquatic animals: 79.87 · 42.0%
HS 61 · Knitted and crocheted clothing: 35.07 · 18.4%
HS 27 · Mineral fuels and oils: 22.12 · 11.6%
HS 72 · Iron and steel: 10.38 · 5.5%
HS 63 · Other textiles and worn clothing: 6.88 · 3.6%
Source and import ranking
Commodity figures cover January-September 2026, HS 2022. Shares are of all HS2 groups in the same direction; labels are shortened. Exports include re-exports. MOC controls and TRCC sums of all HS2 groups both equal US$1,048,430,249.97 for exports and US$190,294,138.15 for imports. Data checked on 13 November 2026.
TRCC statistics - full year 2025
TRCC statistics - January-September 2026 and commodity groups
A Pakistan worth seeing for yourself
The tourism film was one of the evening's memorable moments. Pakistan emerged as a country that cannot be reduced to a single landscape: high mountains, valleys, lakes, roads through rock and traces of ancient civilisations.For this report, we have assembled a separate gallery of spring blossom and autumn colour in Hunza, winter in the Naran Valley, a summer view of K2, the turquoise waters of Attabad Lake, the Karakoram Highway and a road viaduct leading into a tunnel. These are archival illustrations of Pakistan, separate from the event photographs and the film screened that evening.
Takht-i-Bahi, the Buddhist monastic complex on UNESCO's World Heritage List, adds another dimension to the journey. For a Thai audience, an encounter with Gandhara's heritage can offer a further reason to explore Pakistan in person.
The seasons in Hunza and Naran
Roads through the mountains
Nature and cultural heritage
TRCC continues the business conversation
TRCC continues to build relationships with chambers of commerce and local business organisations. Pakistan Business Connect offered an opportunity to hear other business communities' priorities, exchange perspectives and identify subjects for further discussion.According to TPCC, the programme closed with Pakistani and Thai cultural performances. The evening brought business discussions together with an interest in the people, landscapes and heritage of Pakistan.
The official programme
Sources and photo credits
Reporting: TPCC event report · TPCC · Thai MFA - 5 November meeting. Speech summaries draw on the supplied recordings. TRCC statistics links appear beside the trade figures.Travel and heritage: Pakistan Tourism · Gilgit-Baltistan Tourism · UNESCO: Takht-i-Bahi.
Event photographs: TPCC / Facebook and material supplied to the editors, as credited beside each image. The Pakistan landscape and heritage images are archival illustrations, not event photographs or film stills.
Archival photo credits
CC BY 3.0: K2 - Svy123.CC BY-SA 4.0: Hunza spring - Totallytrashed · Hunza autumn - Khaqan ibrahim chopa · Naran winter - Zimam goraya · Attabad road and tunnel - Shahbaz Aslam · Karakoram Highway - Zakir Ali Khan · Attabad Lake - Rizwan439.
CC BY-SA 3.0: Takht-i-Bahi - Muhammad Zahir.
Archival images were resized and converted to JPEG; metadata was removed. No cropping or content alteration.
About the recordings
Speech summaries are paraphrases. The Ambassador’s tourism invitation is supported by an attendee’s recollection and a reference in the following speech. The two Thai recordings are summarised collectively; the smart-farming contribution remains unattributed to a named speaker.Documents
Report
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Pakistan in a New Light - TRCC report (English)
A 15-page English report on Pakistan Business Connect 2026, with event photographs, speaker summaries, TRCC trade charts, commodity groups, archival Pakistan scenery and source links. Prepared by Dmitry Fedorov.