Pakistan, Bulgaria to discuss agriculture ties

Areas of cooperation include livestock, food processing and food safety

ISLAMABAD: The Pak-Bulgaria Inter-Ministerial Commission being hosted by Pakistan on 20-21 May, 2019 in Islamabad also includes agricultural cooperation in the agenda of the second meeting.

Appreciating this development, Minister of National Food Security and Research Sahibzada Mehboob Sultan said, “It is a pleasure to learn agriculture is included in the agenda of the IGC session and we are hopeful that our technical experts would come up with agreed points for our joint endeavours in the field of agriculture.”

The minister was addressing Republic of Bulgaria Deputy Minister of Economy Liliya Ivanove and Bulgarian Ambassador Roumen Pirontchev, during a meeting on Monday.

He said the two sides will follow up cooperation in areas being identified during the session. Major areas of cooperation include livestock and buffalo breeding, food processing, food safety and phyto-sanitary measures.



The federal minister said that Pakistan is the fifth-largest milk producing country in the world and since Bulgaria has developed its strength in various areas of agriculture, including livestock and animal breeding, both countries could mutually benefit in this sector.

“Our government is focusing on this sector,” he said, adding that the government, in collaboration with our provincial governments, is planning to focus on areas including enhancing production of crops, livestock, and fisheries and also improving water management.

Ivanove said Bulgaria is looking forward to extensive cooperation in the field of agriculture with Pakistan, including sustainable export of cotton and rice from Pakistan.

The ambassador offered cooperation in the field of animal medicines, which Bulgaria is quite famous for.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21^st, 2019.

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