Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam received the Ambassador of United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Pakistan His Excellency Hamad Obaid Alzaabi today on 15th Dec, 2021. Syed Fakhar Imam acknowledged the effective measures taken by the UAE to address the issue of food security. He expressed his desire to further enhance cooperation between Pakistan and UAE, especially with respect to food security, in the strenuous Covid-19 circumstances. His Excellency Hamad Obaid Alzaabi apprised the Federal Minister of the current status of UAE’s efforts to control the issue of food security in the country. Fakhar Imam said that Pakistan has had good relations with UAE for the last 50 years and is looking forward to the next 50 years of cooperation. Minister said that the agricultural economy of Pakistan has grown by average 4%. He said that under the leadership of PM imran Khan agriculture has been put back on priority. Fakhar said that Pakistan has donated 50,000 tonne of wheat to Afghanistan and World Food Program has acquired 200,000 tonne of wheat from Pakistan for Afghanistan. He said that Pakistan and the world needs to do their part to end famine and hunger in Afghanistan. Fakhar said 2 million additional bales of cotton will add Rs. 200 Bn to the economy of Pakistan. He said the need of the hour for Pakistan is to develop value added industry. He said that Agro industry has huge potential in Pakistan. He said that processing units of citrus fruits, mangoes, potatoes, tomatoes, onion and dates can yield high return for foreign investors. Fakhar said PTI government had a roadmap and a strategy to uplift the agriculture sector of Pakistan. Minister said that Pakistan is the 5th largest producer of milk and only 7% of it is processed, identifying the huge gap in the value added and processing sector. He said currently we have 40Mn cows to attain the current level of productivity because the domestic cow has the capacity of only 1000 litres per lactation, however worldwide cows can produce up to 6000 litres of milk per lactation. He said that the most pressing issue that Pakistan’s agro economy faces is low yield. He said that through high quality inputs and research high yields can be achieved. Ambassador of United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Pakistan His Excellency Hamad Obaid Alzaabi said that Pakistan has huge potential and a wide number of opportunities to enhance its agro economy. He said that the Dubai Expo 2020 is an ideal example of UAEs efforts to bring the world together. He said UAE wishes to play its part in resolving the issue of food security. He said that Pakistan and UAE need to enhance cooperation in the agriculture sector for mutual benefit. Fakhar Imam and Ambassador of United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Pakistan His Excellency Hamad Obaid Alzaabi agreed to increase collaboration between the Food Ministries of the two countries in order to eradicate hunger. Fakhar Imam emphasized the necessity of strengthening the brotherly ties between the two countries.
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