Pakistan, China sign rock salt cooperation deal

May 21, 2026 (MLN): Pakistan's Pak Salt Corporation (PSC) has signed a Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement with China National Salt Industry Group, which marks a significant step toward developing the country's vast rock salt resources on a commercial scale.

The agreement was inked at the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing on Wednesday in the presence of Ambassador Khalil Hashmi, APP reported.

The deal was brokered under the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), which played a central role in bringing both parties to the table.

PSC, a joint venture between the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation and Miracle Salt Development Corporation and the Chinese state-owned salt giant have agreed to collaborate across the full value chain of Pakistan's rock salt sector, spanning exploration, mining, processing, value addition and international distribution.

The framework is designed to commercialize Pakistan's extensive rock salt reserves in a structured manner, deepen the country's integration into global supply chains and boost domestic processing capacity.

It is also expected to support the international marketing of Pakistani salt products across major consumer and industrial markets worldwide.

One of the more distinctive aspects of the venture is its structure: PSC has been positioned as Pakistan's first platform to simultaneously bring together American and Chinese institutional capabilities, technology and investment under a single operational model  a feature that reflects Pakistan's broader strategy of facilitating engagement from both Eastern and Western partners.

The initiative received backing from SIFC, the Pakistani Embassy in China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant government bodies. The specific commercial and operational terms of the agreement have been kept confidential between the two parties.

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