Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, Rana Tanveer Hussain, met the Italian Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida, in Rome last evening. The meeting took place during the Minister’s visit to Italy, where he is representing Pakistan at the FAO Council. Both sides expressed satisfaction with their longstanding friendly ties and agreed to work towards building a stronger and more practical partnership in agriculture and food security.
The two Ministers reviewed progress on the ongoing olive sector projects, including the Olive Culture Scale-Up Project funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). This programme follows the earlier Olive Culture Project (2022–2024) and the Promotion of Olive Cultivation on Commercial Scale in Pakistan (Phase II, 2021–2026). Rana Tanveer Hussain thanked Italy for its continued technical support and requested further cooperation in modern agricultural machinery, research, and improved techniques for olive oil extraction.
They also noted the signing of the Labor MoU in May 2025 as an important step in broadening bilateral cooperation. Minister Lollobrigida said he looked forward to finalizing and signing the upcoming MoU on Professional Capacity Building and Extension in Agriculture, which aims to strengthen agricultural skills through technical and vocational training. He added that the Italian Trade Agency, which opened its office in Islamabad in mid-2023, is supporting a €20 million project for the horticulture sector to enhance employment opportunities for Pakistani workers at home and abroad.
The Italian Minister briefed his counterpart on the systems used in Italy to ensure quality control across the entire olive oil production chain, and said his Ministry was ready to share relevant experience with Pakistan. He also proposed forming a joint technical group to follow up on cooperation in research, mechanisation and modern olive oil extraction, and mentioned that Italy would soon offer an additional MoU on this subject.
Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain informed the Italian side about Pakistan’s upcoming Olive Value Chain Policy, being developed under the guidance of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He also highlighted the achievement of “Loralai Olive,” produced from the Arbequina variety in Balochistan, which won a silver medal at the New York International Olive Oil Competition in May 2025, competing against over 1,200 global brands. He invited Minister Lollobrigida to visit Pakistan early next year for the signing of the MoUs and said that the visit would help advance bilateral cooperation. He also expressed readiness to host the Italian delegation for the 6th Joint Economic Commission and the 2nd Joint Working Group under the Labor Accord, recalling that the first JWG was held in Rome on 15 September 2025.
Both Ministers concluded the meeting with a shared commitment to continue working together to support Pakistan’s ambition of becoming a producer of high-quality olive oil for domestic use and export, making full use of Italy’s experience and technological strengths.
