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Pakistan, Bahrain set sights on US$1b trade target | The Express Tribune
PM Shehbaz receives Bahrain’s highest state honour, the Order of Bahrain (First Class), during meeting with King Hamad
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif receives a guard of honour at Al-Qudaibiya Palace in Manama on November 26, 2025. Photo: APP
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa have agreed to raise Pakistan–Bahrain bilateral trade to US$1 billion within three years, setting one of the strongest economic goals between the two countries in recent years.
The commitment was made during a meeting at Qasr Al-Qudaibiya in Manama, where both leaders placed economic cooperation at the centre of their discussions. Current trade between the two nations stands at more than US$550 million, with both sides expressing readiness to accelerate growth through the nearly finalised Pakistan–GCC Free Trade Agreement and recent visa relaxations aimed at improving business mobility.
PM Shehbaz invited Bahraini investors to explore opportunities in food security, IT, construction, mining and minerals, renewable energy, health, and tourism. He also proposed enhanced port-to-port connectivity between Karachi or Gwadar and Khalifa bin Salman Port to facilitate smoother trade flows. The two leaders reviewed defence and security ties, agreeing to expand cooperation in training, cybersecurity, defence production, and information exchange.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in delegation level talks with Bahrain’s leadership at the Al-Qudaibiya Palace. Photo: APP
The premier thanked Bahrain for its longstanding support to the more than 150,000-strong Pakistani community and reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to supplying more skilled workers. He also acknowledged Bahrain’s assistance in constructing King Hamad University in Islamabad and in facilitating the release and repatriation of Pakistani nationals.
PM Shehbaz also congratulated Bahrain on securing a two-year non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2026–27 term, expressing Pakistan’s readiness for close coordination during its tenure.
Both sides also exchanged views on developments in Gaza, expressing hope that recent steps toward stability would bring long-awaited relief to its people. The meeting concluded with optimism that the renewed dialogue would deliver tangible progress across strategic, economic, security, and people-to-people ties.
Earlier, upon his arrival at the palace, the premier was presented with a guard of honour.
Meeting with King Hamad
Later, the prime minister met with King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, and the two countries agreed to deepen cooperation across political, economic, defence, and cultural spheres.
Both leaders reaffirmed the importance of Pakistan and Bahrain’s longstanding defence partnership and agreed to further strengthen cooperation in training, logistics, manpower, and defence production.
Touching upon the economic cooperation, the premier underscored Pakistan’s intention to boost trade and investment, noting that bilateral commerce is set to expand once the Pakistan–GCC Free Trade Agreement—now in its final stages—is concluded.
They also exchanged views on developments in Gaza, agreeing that peace and stability for its people were long overdue.
The prime minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening bilateral ties anchored in shared faith and mutual respect. He thanked the monarch for Bahrain’s longstanding support, including the establishment of the King Hamad University for Nursing and Allied Medical Sciences in Islamabad, inaugurated in September.
PM Shehbaz welcomed recent high-level exchanges and expressed gratitude for Bahrain’s solidarity following recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan.
King Hamad informed the prime minister that Bahrain once had the privilege of being represented at a legal forum by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, noting that Pakistan’s founding father served as Bahrain’s lawyer for many years.
During the meeting, King Hamad conferred the Order of Bahrain (First Class) on PM Shehbaz— the kingdom’s highest award presented to heads of state and government.
Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain H.R.H. Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa receives Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif at Bahrain International Airport in Manama.
(Manama: November 26, 2025) pic.twitter.com/NQw3HtxKMf
— Prime Minister’s Office (@PakPMO) November 26, 2025
Earlier in the day, upon landing at Bahrain International Airport, the premier was received by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani, and senior Bahraini officials.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, and senior officials are accompanying the prime minister on the visit.
People walk past a Nike store in New York City, on April 2, 2025.
Kylie Cooper | Reuters
Nike announced a new round of layoffs Thursday affecting approximately 1,400 employees across the organization, mostly concentrated in its technology department.
In a note from COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy, the company said the layoffs were part of Nike’s broader “Win Now” turnaround strategy aiming to reshape its technology team, modernize its Air manufacturing, move some of its Converse Footwear operations and integrate its materials supply chain work into its footwear and apparel supply chain teams.
“Collectively, these changes will result in a reduction of approximately 1,400 roles in global operations, with the majority in technology,” Alagirisamy wrote. “These reductions are very hard for the teammates directly affected and for the teams around them, too.”
A Nike spokesperson said the layoffs are about better positioning the organization for the current pace of sports and accelerating its growth. The layoffs affect employees across North America, Asia and Europe and represent less than 2% of the company’s total global head count.
“This is not a new direction,” Alagirisamy wrote. “It is the next phase of the work already underway.”
Affected employees will be notified beginning Thursday, Nike added.
CEO Elliott Hill has been working to turn Nike around after years of slumping sales. While Hill has made some initial progress, it’s come with some bumps in the road.
Nike announced 775 job cuts in January, primarily at its U.S.-based distribution centers, due to the company’s work in accelerating its use of automation. At the time, the company said the cuts are part of Nike’s goal to return to “long-term, profitable growth.”
Those layoffs came on top of a round of cuts last summer that affected less than 1% of Nike’s corporate staff as part of the company’s efforts to realign the business.
In its third fiscal quarter earnings report last month, the retailer warned that sales will continue to fall for the rest of the year, primarily led by an anticipated 20% decline in China during the current quarter.
— CNBC’s Jessica Golden contributed to this report.
A key reason for the layoffs is Meta’s increased spending in other areas of the company, including AI, for which it will this year spend $135bn (£100bn). This is roughly equal to the amount it has spent on AI in the previous three years combined, according to a person who viewed the memo.
The Government has been urged to stick to its pledge to ban ticket touting amid concerns the policy will be left out of next month’s King’s Speech.
In November, the Government announced that new rules making it illegal to resell tickets for live events for profit would end the “industrial-scale” touting that has caused misery for millions of fans.
Ministers confirmed plans to make it illegal for tickets to concerts, theatre, comedy, sport and other live events to be resold for more than their original cost.
The Labour manifesto promised stronger protections to stop consumers being scammed or priced out of events by touts, who frequently use bots to buy tickets in bulk the moment they go on sale, which they can then sell on for huge mark-ups on secondary ticketing websites.
The proposed rules make it illegal for tickets to be sold at a price above the face value – defined as the original price plus unavoidable fees including service charges.
Service fees will be capped to prevent the price limit being undermined by platforms, which will have a legal duty to monitor and enforce compliance, and individuals will be banned from reselling more tickets than they were entitled to buy in the initial sale.
A host of globally renowned artists have backed the plan, including Radiohead, Dua Lipa and Coldplay.
Following a report in the Guardian that the minister responsible for the policy, Ian Murray, had told music industry groups not to worry if the measure was not part of the King’s Speech on May 13, the Government said it required new primary legislation that it was working to deliver at the earliest opportunity.
A Government spokeswoman said: “Ticket touts are a blight on the live events industry, causing misery for millions of fans.
“We set out decisive plans last year to stamp out touting once and for all, and we are committed to delivering on these for the benefit of fans and industry.”
The music industry and Which? raised concerns about the suggestion of any delay, as sites appeared to show touts selling tickets for the Radio 1 Big Weekend in Sunderland well above the two-ticket limit for buyers and at vastly inflated prices.
Annabella Coldrick, chief executive of the Music Managers Forum, said: “2026 was supposed to mark this Government moving ‘from announcements to action’ but we have little evidence of this to date.
“A ban on ticket touting was one of only two music-related commitments in the Labour manifesto, alongside fixing EU touring.
“These are widely supported, pro-growth measures that will deliver tangible benefits to the British public. However, if ticket resale legislation is not presented in the King’s Speech, it will have the opposite effect and continue to cost those constituents hundreds of millions of pounds a year.
“This Government needs to stand by its promises and get it done.”
Adam Webb, campaign manager at FanFair Alliance, said: “The Government has a big decision to make: will they ‘put fans first’ or not?
“Last November, ministers committed to ‘bold new measures’ to ban online ticket touting and support consumers.
“Enacting these measures should be a no-brainer but, if legislation is not presented in the upcoming King’s Speech, the cycle of industrial-scale exploitation will continue.”
Lisa Webb, consumer law expert at Which?, said: “The Government has promised to put fans first but, if this legislation is not included in the King’s Speech, the only ones celebrating will be the rip-off secondary ticketing websites and online touts.”
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