Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pledged on Friday to fully support exporters and producers to maximize their contributions to the country. Speaking as the chief guest at the Food and Agriculture Expo-2024 (FoodAg24) inauguration at the Expo Centre, the PM highlighted last year's successful exports of rice and other agricultural products, praising the efforts of those involved.
On the occasion, Shehbaz Sharif along with others performed the digital inauguration of the event.
Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan will send 1,000 agricultural graduates to China to receive higher education and training in agriculture and food sector.
He emphasized that more needs to be done, pointing out Pakistan's vast potential. Sharif urged for increased value addition to produce through adopting the latest technologies and enhancing research and development.
He also called for the need of comprehensive planning and effective implementation of the policies to achieve targets.
He said that since coming into power, the present government has taken many steps for the growth of agriculture sector. He made special mention of the project to solarise 28,000 tube wells in Balochistan to provide cheap electricity to farmers.
Prime Minister Shehbaz expressed confidence that "nothing is impossible, if we all put our best efforts".
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif along with other dignitaries presented awards to top three exporters from rice, fruit, vegetable and meat sectors.
Pak-China relations
The prime minister, emphasising the transformation of friendly relations between China and Pakistan into enhanced investment, economic and trade ties, said that the next phase of CPEC will mainly involve business to business arrangements particularly in industrial sector.
He expressed the views while addressing the representatives of international companies doing business in Pakistan including China here on Friday. we have to convert these relations of brotherhood and friendship into enhanced investment, economic and trade relations particularly in the fields of agriculture, information technology, mines, minerals and infrastructure."
Being an agrarian economy with over 60% rural population Pakistan need to further strengthen and augment its agricultural produce, he said and informed that Pakistani agricultural exports increased by $ 3 billion in the last financial year while we have fixed a target of additional $7 billion for the current fiscal year.
Encouraging the Chinese businessmen to enter into business cooperation agreement with Pakistani counterparts the PM said that the next phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will mainly consist of business-to-business arrangements and joint ventures in industry particularly in textile, agriculture production and then export of these products to different countries.
He added that Pakistan and China could devise a common mechanism for production and export of such products and it will be a win-win situation for both the countries.
Turkish investors
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the authorities concerned to extend the maximum possible facilities to the Turkish investors in Pakistan to boost bilateral trade and investment cooperation.
The prime minister, talking to a high-level delegation of leading Turkish businessmen led by Turkish Minister for Customs and Trade Omer Bolat, who called on him here, said that the Government of Pakistan desired to promote bilateral trade ties.
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