ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday expressed his hopes for an “agricultural revolution” in the country following the training of 1,000 local experts in China, Pakistani state media reported.
The statement came during a meeting presided over by Iqbal with regard to training of these experts in China as part of collaboration between the two friendly countries, the state-run APP news agency. The report did not mention a timeline of the training program.
Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and constitutes its largest sector. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), agriculture contributes about 24 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounts for half of the employed labor force in the country.
During the meeting, Iqbal said Pakistan is sending its agricultural experts to China to get training and transform the sector on modern lines, adding that Pakistan has the best resources and minds but needed to acquaint its experts with modern technology and techniques to boost production.
“Developing agriculture on modern lines is the need of the hour,” he was quoted as saying. “Promoting research and education in this sector is among the top priorities of the government.”
The meeting was attended by National Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain and other senior officials, according to the report.
Tanveer reaffirmed the government’s commitment to developing the agricultural sector and adopting latest agricultural methodologies to achieve bumper crops and to change old harvesting methods.
Pakistan, which has been faced with an economic crisis, is currently looking to boost its agricultural production and exports to earn precious foreign exchange to support its economy.
In June this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had said that he was looking forward to exploring new avenues to benefit from China’s agricultural prowess and “modernization.” The statement came after the premier arrived in the Chinese city of Xi’an in the third leg of his five-day visit to China
“Looking forward to learning about China’s agricultural modernization and innovation from the world class facilities of this great city,” the prime minister said on X, after landing in Xi’an.
“Keen to explore new avenues of cooperation and further deepen our linkages in agriculture to enhance Pakistan’s food productivity and quality.”
Pakistan hopes for ‘agricultural revolution’ after training of 1,000 local experts in China
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Pakistan hopes for ‘agricultural revolution’ after training of 1,000 local experts in China
- Agriculture is the largest sector in Pakistan, contributing about 24 percent of the GDP and accounting for half of the employed labor force
- In June, PM Shehbaz Sharif said he was looking forward to exploring new avenues to benefit from China’s agricultural prowess, ‘modernization’
Pakistan joins regional talks on Afghanistan in Iran as Kabul stays away
- China, Pakistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan all joined talks organized by Iran, as did Russia
- Afghanistan was invited but decided not to attend, Taliban-led government was tight-lipped on the reasons
TEHRAN, Iran: Afghanistan’s neighbors met in Iran and agreed to deepen regional coordination to address political, economic and security challenges, as well as calling for sanctions on Afghanistan to be lifted.
The only absent party? Afghanistan itself.
China, Pakistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan all joined the talks organized by Iran, as did Russia, according to a statement released after the meeting on Sunday.
Afghanistan was invited but decided not to attend. Its Taliban-led government was tight-lipped on the reasons, with the foreign ministry saying only that it would not participate because Afghanistan “currently maintains active engagement with regional countries through existing regional organizations and formats, and has made good progress in this regard.”
The statement from the talks in Iran stressed the importance of maintaining economic and trade ties with Afghanistan to improve living conditions and called for the country’s integration into regional political and economic processes.
The Taliban were isolated after they retook power in Afghanistan in August 2021, but in the past year, they have developed diplomatic ties. They now raise several billion dollars every year in tax revenues to keep the lights on.
However, Afghanistan is still struggling economically. Millions rely on aid for survival, and the struggling economy has been further impacted by the international community not recognizing the Taliban government’s seizure of power in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of US-led troops in 2021. Natural disasters and the flow of Afghans fleeing Pakistan under pressure to return home have underlined Afghanistan’s reliance on foreign aid to meet essential needs.
The countries at the talks also voiced security concerns and pledged cooperation in combating terrorism, drug trafficking and human smuggling, while opposing any foreign military presence in Afghanistan. They underscored the responsibility of the international community to lift sanctions and release Afghanistan’s frozen assets, and urged international organizations to support the dignified return of Afghan refugees from neighboring countries.
The participants backed efforts to reduce tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which have been particularly strained, with border clashes between the two sides killing dozens of civilians, soldiers and suspected militants and wounding hundreds more.
The violence followed explosions in Kabul on Oct. 9 that Afghan authorities blamed on Pakistan. A Qatar-mediated ceasefire has largely held since October, although there have been limited border clashes. The two sides failed to reach an overall agreement in November despite three rounds of peace talks.
Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s former special representative for Afghanistan, said the Taliban government’s decision to skip the meeting reflected a “lack of political maturity.”
Writing on X, Durrani said the move reinforced concerns that the Taliban were unwilling to negotiate, instead adopting an “I don’t accept” stance that he said would do little to resolve serious regional problems.
Mohammad Sadiq, the current Pakistani special representative for Afghanistan who attended the talks, wrote on X that the Afghan people had already suffered enough and deserved better.
Only an Afghanistan that does not harbor militants would inspire confidence among neighboring and regional countries to engage meaningfully with Kabul and help unlock the country’s economic and connectivity potential, he wrote.
Participants agreed to hold the next meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries as soon as possible in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and welcomed Pakistan’s offer to host the next round of special envoys’ talks in Islamabad in March.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, on Sunday said that the meeting had not been held for about two years and marked the first such gathering attended by special envoys on Afghanistan from neighboring countries as well as Russia. Russia and Uzbekistan sent the special envoys of their presidents, while Pakistan was represented by a delegate from the prime minister’s office.
Landlocked Afghanistan is sandwiched between the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia, making it strategically located for energy-rich and energy-hungry nations.
