Pakistan

Independent since 1947, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is located in South Asia. It is bordered on its southern side by the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, and shares its borders with India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China to the northeast. Its total population is 242 million, making it one of the most populous countries in Asia and the world. Like the whole Indian subcontinent, Pakistan has been the birthplace of ancient and important civilisations, and a crossroads of peoples, cultures and trade. Designed from scratch in the ’60s by famous architects like Apostolou Doxiadīs, Edward Durell Stone and Gio Ponti, Islamabad is today considered one of the most beautiful and modern capital cities in the world.

Pakistan has achieved significant levels of economic growth in recent years. The abundance of a relatively skilled and cheap workforce has encouraged the rise of numerous industries and has made the country the focus of infrastructural investments under China's Belt and Road Initiative, in which Pakistan will play a major role as a gateway to the Arabian Sea. With one of the best-trained armies in the region, Pakistan has also acquired strategic and diplomatic relevance by taking part in several regional and extra-regional stabilisation initiatives.

Relations between Italy and Pakistan are stable. Total trade with Italy amounted to €1,75 billion in 2021. Italy is one of the main European export markets for Pakistani companies. The growing importance of the aerospace and defence sectors in trade relations between the two countries is worthy of note, as are some significant bilateral collaboration agreements, especially in the areas of commerce and culture. Italy also hosts a large Pakistani immigrant community, which consists of 200,000 people, about 140,000 of whom are documented. This makes it the seventh largest Pakistani community overseas worldwide. Pakistani residents in Italy sent €370 million remittances to Pakistan in 2020, accounting for a fifth of inflows from the European Union, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan.