ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Minister for Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain on Thursday invited Chinese enterprises to invest in the country’s agriculture sector, eyeing stronger collaboration with Beijing in irrigation technologies and modern farming techniques.
Pakistan has recently undertaken efforts to promote its agriculture sector, which include establishing a new regulatory body this week to reform the sector and bring domestic food safety standards in line with international requirements.
Agriculture remains a cornerstone of Pakistan’s economy, employing nearly 38 percent of the workforce and contributing around 19 percent to the country’s GDP. However, the sector has long faced challenges, including outdated practices, poor regulatory oversight, low export competitiveness and barriers in meeting international sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards.
Hussain met a high-level Chinese delegation including Jiang Zaidong, the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, on the sidelines of the China-Pakistan Economic and Trade Exchange Conference in Islamabad.
“The Minister also underlined the importance of public-private partnerships and urged Chinese enterprises, including those from XPCC [Xinjian Production and Construction Corps] and China Xinjian Group, to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan’s agriculture and agri-business sectors,” the food security and research ministry said in a statement.
Hussain welcomed proposals for joint ventures, research exchanges and the establishment of demonstration farms and technology centers in Pakistan, the statement added.
The two sides discussed enhancing agricultural cooperation, particularly focusing on research, cotton production, seed development, irrigation efficiency and technological exchange.
The Pakistani minister highlighted the challenges Islamabad has faced in recent years, especially in cotton production, where declining yields and outdated seed varieties have created major setbacks, the ministry said.
“The Minister expressed keen interest in learning from Xinjiang’s remarkable progress in improving agricultural productivity, especially in regions with arid and semi-arid climates, which closely resemble many parts of Pakistan,” the statement said.
Zaidong reaffirmed China’s commitment to deepening agricultural cooperation with Pakistan, the food security ministry said.
“He appreciated Pakistan’s proactive approach and openness to collaboration and highlighted the potential for long-term partnership in food security, technology transfer, and rural development,” the statement added.
Pakistan has undertaken a reform drive to enhance its economic sectors via the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC). The SIFC is a civil-military hybrid body formed in 2023 to fast-track foreign investment and economic reform in strategic sectors, including agriculture, mining, IT and defense production.
Pakistan aims to attract international investment in its key economic sectors to ward off a prolonged macroeconomic crisis that has drained its resources and embroiled the country in a balance of payments crisis.
