Pakistan has good relations with important Pacific states like Australia and New Zealand. But in today’s globalised world, where technology such as AI is advancing, and the world is changing rapidly, is maintaining relations with only the key countries a good deal or a bad deal? Pakistan does not have time to think, because its neighbouring rival has become the fifth-largest economy in the world. Therefore, Pakistan will now have to build relations with the rest of the countries of Oceania, which will not only bring diplomatic success but also economic success—a challenge that has plagued Pakistan for the past decade.
As the relationship and awareness of Islamabad among the Pacific states increase during this period of critical global transformation, collaboration with countries such as Fiji and Samoa will become more significant. Such relationships are no longer based solely on official diplomacy but on common grounds such as climate change, agriculture, clean energy, and food security, where there is also some intersection with migration pressures and environmental issues.
In most aspects, the history of Pakistan’s foreign relations has followed the transformations of its domestic policies, establishing a significant bond between evolving diplomacy, internal changes, and the overall situation in the region. These external engagements are not occurring in isolation; they are deeply shaped by Pakistan’s own climate vulnerabilities, which form a core driver of its outreach to Pacific states facing similar environmental challenges.
Pakistan is among the nations most susceptible to climate change. High temperatures, unpredictable precipitation, and extreme events have a threatening impact on its agricultural backbone. There is a massive loss of up to 50 percent of vegetable crops, such as potatoes, peas, and tomatoes, especially in Punjab, the breadbasket of the country. Even key export crops are being affected: citrus production, particularly kinnow, orange, and lemon, has sharply fallen, partly due to worsening air quality.
However, Pakistan is not merely a victim of these issues. Scientists, under the Atoms for Food Initiative in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Food and Agriculture Organization, have developed novel, climate-tolerant cotton varieties. In the meantime, major staple and cash crops—wheat, rice, maize, and cotton—have been included in a global food systems programme intended to make agriculture more sustainable, resilient, and pollution-free.
This internal resilience-building through science and innovation naturally reinforces Pakistan’s external engagements, linking its domestic climate response to the shared struggles of many Pacific states. There is an evident echo of this domestic fight against climate dysfunction in the Pacific. Even the small island states of Oceania are on the front line of climate change, facing rising seas, coastal erosion, and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns. Both sides now demand a cooperative effort—a joint response in climate adaptation projects, early warning systems, and sustainable development projects that draw on scientific expertise.
These strategic opportunities also reshape Pakistan’s broader diplomatic posture, making its engagement with Oceania far more substantive than symbolic
Pakistan also has well-formed alliances in the diplomatic arena with Pacific countries in global climate governance. Islamabad was one of the few states to form a coalition of small island states to support a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, a treaty to enable the fair phase-out of coal, oil, and gas. This partnership amplifies Pakistan’s voice on climate justice, acknowledging that its growth must be green and its foreign policy based on equity.
The relationship between Pakistan and Oceania is not only about treaties at the highest level but also about practical cooperation. Pakistani professionals have proposed common ventures in climate-conscious agribusiness, such as water-efficient irrigation, soil health schemes, and computerised agriculture systems. These projects have the potential to enable Pacific farmers to cope better with environmental stressors and give Pakistan a new springboard towards its agricultural research and export agenda.
After all, agriculture is one of the foundations of the Pakistani economy and diplomacy. Islamabad has been focusing on investing in agri-food systems through its Special Investment Facilitation Centre. The Food and Agriculture Organization and its partnership with the Australian Centre of International Agricultural Research indicate a commitment to sharing values of climate-resilient agriculture, value-added crops, and export capacity development.
Pakistan is also looking at the Pacific as a market, not only as a diplomatic partner in trade. Sugarcane, the second largest crop in the country after textiles, is poised to become a major export to Fiji, serving as a gateway to other Pacific markets. This is not a side affair but part of a larger plan to diversify export markets and lessen dependence on traditional ones.
However, trade is not the only issue associated with energy and food. A superb instrument in Pakistan’s sustainability diplomacy is the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme, which has planted billions of trees to reduce climate risk and create green jobs. This initiative sends a message to its Pacific partners that Pakistan is serious about collective environmental issues.
On the western side, development organisations such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development are also ready to enter into partnerships. IFAD has invested in enhancing the livelihoods of rural areas and food systems in Oceania by adopting climate-smart agriculture, rainwater harvesting, composting, and organic trade. Such investments align with Pakistan’s adaptation priorities and create real synergies in joint projects that can be mutually valuable to both regions.
At a strategic level, the opportunity cost of Pakistan expanding to Oceania is that this move comes at a time when key powers are rebalancing in the Indo-Pacific. As China pursues its Belt and Road Initiative in the region, Pakistan’s participation signals that it is not beholden to a particular axis. Rather, Islamabad is opting to diversify, working with alliances such as the Fossil Fuel Treaty bloc and bilateral climate-agriculture partnerships to ensure it maintains control of its global standing.
This outreach sends a positive domestic signal. Pakistan’s foreign policy is projecting a forward-looking approach based on sustainability, innovation, and collaboration. This not only improves the country’s international profile but also opens new markets, encourages agri-tech development, and channels climate finance into the most at-risk areas.
A diplomatic hunger also exists in Pakistan to have a stronger climate voice. The country, though highly vulnerable, receives no more than three percent of climate finance channelled towards South Asia. Pakistan can also be more effective in global processes such as the COP meetings by strengthening relationships with Pacific countries, which carry significant moral authority in climate talks.
This outreach is not without risks or challenges. Developing meaningful partnerships with island states requires understanding local political, environmental, and social dynamics. However, it is a worthwhile investment, as the opportunities around joint projects in climate resilience, food systems, and agri-trade are enormous.
These strategic opportunities also reshape Pakistan’s broader diplomatic posture, making its engagement with Oceania far more substantive than symbolic.
In plain terms, this is not ornamental diplomacy. Pakistan’s engagement with Oceania carries real weight. It delivers practical responses to climate change, strengthens climate-resilient crop systems, and expands cooperation on food security. For Pacific Island partners, Islamabad offers both scientific expertise and genuine solidarity at a time of shared vulnerability. What was once a peripheral region in Pakistan’s foreign policy calculus is now emerging as a central arena for its diplomatic, developmental, and climate-focused ambitions.
It is not just commodities that Pakistan exports through this relationship, but capacity, hope, and dedication.