By Salman Siddiqui Total Communicati
Pakistan will formalise a strategic partnership with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba next week in a bid to boost exports through digital trade infrastructure.
Faiz Ahmad Chadhar, Chief Executive of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), revealed on the sidelines of the 18th International Conference on Mobile Commerce 2025 to Business Recorder that an agreement signing ceremony will take place on July 10 in Islamabad.
鈥淲e are partnering with Alibaba to revolutionise all Pakistani products that are discovered, sold and shifted across borders. It is one of the two global e-commerce giants including Amazon,鈥 Chadhar said while addressing the one-day conference organised by Total Communications in Karachi.
The collaboration aims to strengthen Pakistan鈥檚 digital supply chain ecosystem and integrate it with secure and real-time payment systems such as Raast, Pakistan鈥檚 instant payment platform operated by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
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鈥淥ur vision is to create a single unified digital supply chain ecosystem, supported by secured and real-time digital payment solutions like Raast.鈥
He painted a vivid picture of the envisioned system: 鈥淚magine a small business in Skardu receiving a bulk order from Alibaba.
The payment arrives instantly into its mobile wallet via Raast. The same wallet is used to pay a supplier in Karachi on Raast. Inventory is hit, tracked, and restarted 鈥 without cash, without bank, and without barriers.鈥
鈥淭hat is the power of digital commerce,鈥 he added. 鈥淭hat is the vision we are materializing right now. Raast makes this region not only possible but practical and scalable. This is not theoretical. It is actionable. This is the future we are building with your support.鈥
Chadhar emphasised that both TDAP and the Ministry of Commerce are 鈥渇ully committed to driving this digital shift, not just as a policy priority, but as a national imperative.鈥
At the same conference, Faisal Mahmood, Head of Digital Public Infrastructure at Karandaaz Pakistan, raised concerns about SBP鈥檚 sandbox initiative. He questioned whether the central bank has the required funding, expertise, and technical support to effectively run pilot phases of digital projects.
To recall, the SBP launched its sandbox guidelines around two months ago, in May 2025. Soon, it would invite all entities 鈥 whether regulated or unregulated 鈥 such as banks, fintechs, and startups, to test their digital business ideas and potential solutions in a controlled environment with relaxed regulations during the testing phase of the business ideas.
Ali Imran Khan, Deputy CIO at Meezan Bank, underlined open banking as the future, enabling personalised solutions through consent-based data sharing.
Mashreq Pakistan CEO Muhammad Hamayun Sajjad stressed that while cash has remained the 鈥渒ing of the ring鈥 digitalisation is now not an option but essential for growth.