The US  Ambassador called on Minister for National Food Security and  Research Sahibzada Muhammad Mehboob Sultan and discussed the different prospects of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s forthcoming visit to US.

The minister said that the incumbent government under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan was making all efforts to strengthen the agriculture sector and had identified areas which would be developed on priority basis including agriculture mechanization to augment the yield of cotton, development of oilseed to decrease the import bill.

Mehboob Sultan said Pakistan was exporting mango to over 48 countries across the globe, adding that exports to US could be enhanced as it meets all the international standards.

He said enhanced market access would give further boost to exports of mango to US.

He said that joint strategy could also be formed for value addition of mangoes in Pakistan and export it to US which would be mutually beneficial for both the countries.

The minister also stressed the need for providing market access to Pakistani dates to US markets.

Speaking on the occasion, the ambassador said US was well aware that Pakistan was an important agricultural country and exchange of technologies in agriculture field including cooperation in value addition, public private partnership would be welcomed.

The minister and ambassador mutually agreed that Prime Minister’s forthcoming visit would be very important to highlight the preferred areas of cooperation especially in the field of agriculture.