Islamabad Opens Two-Day Pakistan–China Pharmaceutical And Healthcare B2B Investment Conference: The SIFC, Health Ministry And DRAP-Organised Summit Targets Joint Ventures, Technology Transfer And Local Drug Production To Cut Pakistan’s 90% Raw Material Import Bill
According to Arab News Pakistan, Islamabad opened the Pakistan–China Pharmaceutical and Healthcare B2B Investment Conference 2026 on July 17, bringing together approximately 500 participants; around 160 Chinese firms represented by 180 delegates, alongside 340 Pakistani businesses for two days of structured B2B meetings, investment sessions, and networking aimed at transforming Pakistan’s pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors.
The conference has been jointly organised by Pakistan’s Special Investment Facilitation Council, the Ministry of Health, and the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan. It targets joint ventures, technology transfer, contract manufacturing, research collaboration, and local production partnerships across pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and healthcare.
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal underscored Pakistan’s core challenge: the country manufactures 85% of its own medicines domestically, but imports 90% of the raw materials required to produce them. The conference is designed to directly address that dependency by connecting Pakistani industry with Chinese raw material producers, manufacturers, and technology providers.
China has pledged over $65 billion in investment to Pakistan through CPEC and related programmes. Pakistan is simultaneously pursuing a $7 billion IMF stabilisation programme, with policymakers increasingly focused on reviving industrial output, attracting foreign investment, and boosting exports.
This is not just a networking event — it is Pakistan confronting the single most critical structural weakness in its pharma sector. Importing 90% of your raw materials while boasting 85% local drug production is a supply chain disaster waiting to happen. Chinese manufacturers attending this conference have both the scale and the incentive to help fix it.
Check out our previous coverage of Pakistan affairs on The Trusted Times.
