Pakistan, Tajikistan eye agri, food-sector cooperation

Rana Tanveer Hussain, Pakistan's Federal Minister for National Food Security & Research, met Tajik Ambassador Yusuf Sharifzoda to discuss bilateral trade and agricultural ties, according to The Express Tribune. The envoy invited the minister to a regional Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) meeting planned for September. The minister called the relationship historic and cordial, built on religious, cultural and civilisational links.

Rana Tanveer Hussain argued that trade between the two countries should be lifted through closer engagement and fresh routes. He identified room for joint work in farming, food processing, livestock, farm technology and adding value to produce, saying each nation could learn from the other's know-how.

Ambassador Sharifzoda acknowledged a drop in bilateral trade and stressed that alternative options must be explored to revive it. Both sides agreed to keep building trade and economic links, expand business-to-business contacts and seek openings in agriculture and food-related areas. The talks also stressed regional connectivity as a way to deepen the long-standing brotherly ties.