79 Pak-China agri MoUs worth $4.5b signed

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain has said that the Pakistan-China Agri Investment Conference held on January 19, 2026 resulted in the signing of 79 memoranda of understanding (MoU) between Pakistani and Chinese companies, with an estimated investment value of $4.5 billion in agriculture and allied sectors.

Speaking to the media, as per an official statement issued on Tuesday, the minister said the scale of the agreements reflected a shift from dialogue to investment-led cooperation, adding that the conference was designed to secure project-based commitments rather than broad discussions.

He said the event focused on direct business-to-business matchmaking, targeted sectoral engagement and project-based investment facilitation, enabling companies from both sides to conclude agreements aligned with commercial demand and technological needs. Hussain said the Ministry of National Food Security and Research carried out extensive preparatory work ahead of the conference, including structured consultations with Pakistani industry representatives and Chinese enterprises. The aim, he said, was to align proposals with national priorities, market requirements and technology gaps.

As a result, he said, agreements were signed across ten agricultural and allied subsectors. These included food processing and value addition, agri-technology, seeds and plant protection, livestock and dairy, meat and poultry, fruits and vegetables, fisheries and aquaculture, animal feed, post-harvest infrastructure and agricultural inputs.

The minister said the proposed investments were expected to modernise agricultural value chains and introduce advanced production and processing technologies. He added that higher productivity, improved storage and better logistics could reduce post-harvest losses and strengthen farm-to-market linkages. He said the inflow of capital and technology was also expected to generate employment, particularly in rural areas, and contribute to higher farm incomes. Improved processing capacity, he added, would support export-oriented production of value-added agricultural and food products.

Referring to wider economic impacts, Rana Tanveer Hussain said the investments would contribute to GDP growth, expand the industrial base linked to agriculture and support price stability through improved supply chains. He said enhanced domestic processing could also strengthen national food security. The minister said the conference outcomes were consistent with the objectives of the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which places emphasis on industrial cooperation, technology transfer and sustainable development. He said the government would focus on translating the signed MoUs into operational projects.

He added that follow-up mechanisms, institutional coordination and facilitation for investors would be prioritised to ensure that agreements moved beyond documentation and into implementation.

Separately, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar Khan met a Chinese delegation to discuss avenues for expanding economic cooperation, with emphasis on exports, manufacturing, mining, minerals and industrial policy. The meeting was attended by Minister Counsellor Yang Guangyuan, Vera Luo of the China Chamber of Commerce in Pakistan, the Prime Minister's Coordinator for China Zafar Uddin and Secretary Industries and Production Saif Anjum.

During the discussions, both sides exchanged views on increasing Pakistan's export base, strengthening manufacturing capacity and developing the country's mineral, mining and gemstone sectors through effective policies and timely execution.