Jordan desires to restart importing mangoes from Pakistan provided certain conditions, including quarantine procedure, are fulfilled. The offer was extended by Jordanian Ambassador Dr Saleh Ahmed Al Jawarneh in a meeting with caretaker Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) Prince Isa Jan Baloch here on Wednesday, sources told Business Recorder.
The ambassador also invited the Minfal minister to visit Jordan for signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the mangoes import, they added. The ambassador said Jordan was in touch with the Ministry of Commerce in Pakistan for free trade between the two, saying that the Arab countries should invest in Pakistan to strengthen its economy, said the sources.
They said former Minfal minister Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan visited Jordan along with the then Prime Minister in May 2007, and discussed an MoU for the export of mangoes to Jordan. In the follow up discussion, the Minfal minister invited Dr Mostafa, then Agricultural Minister, and a team of experts from Plant Protection Directorate of Jordan to visit Pakistan to resolve the issues in connection with mangoes export.
As a result the Jordanian experts visited Pakistan from August 31 to September 7, 2007 to discuss the plant quarantine issue and were satisfied with arrangement after which the Jordanian government agreed to import mangoes.