Federal Minister for Food & Agriculture, Nazar Muhammad Gondal on Saturday held out an assurance to Maldives's High Commissioner in Pakistan that Pakistan was ready to build institutional linkages with Maldives and would provide every possible support to its people in building capacity in agriculture.
The minister said this while talking to the Maldives High Commissioner to Pakistan Shehenaz Adam who called on him here. Gondal said the government of Pakistan would offer short courses and other agriculture related technical assistance to the students of Maldives.
On the occasion, Maldivan High Commissioner requested the minister to provide Maldives with Halal meat, rice, fruits and other products. Gondal assured Shehenaz that Pakistan would work on exporting Halal meat, rice and fruits such as mangoes, kinnows, etc.
The minister directed the officials concerned to work out the proposal drafts about the potential areas for trade between the two countries so that an MoU could be worked out and signed in near future. The minister also added that the Maldives minister for Agriculture & Fisheries would be sent an official invitation to visit Pakistan to identify the areas where Pakistan could help and assist Maldives.
She showed keen interest in the export of rice, fruits (especially mangoes and kinnows) garments and other agriculture related items to her country. The High Commissioner added that Maldives imports almost everything from abroad, as its local production is almost zero and Pakistan's help in this regard would be most appreciated. The minister said Pakistan produces about 4 million tons of surplus rice and the best quality of Basmati in the world is production of the country, which could be exported to Maldives.
The High Commissioner thanked the federal minister for his cordial and positive response to the Maldives' request for co-operation in the field of agriculture and showing interest in the export to Maldives. There is not a single university in Maldives that is why its students depend on self-sponsored and foreign assisted scholarships and training courses, she added.
Comments
Comments are closed.