Pakistan, Bangladesh eye agrifood partnership

Pakistan and Bangladesh are looking to deepen agrifood ties, according to The Express Tribune, after Federal Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain met Bangladeshi counterparts in Rome. The talks took place on the sidelines of an FAO conference on One Health in agrifood systems, with Abdul Awal Mintoo, Bangladesh's environment, forest and climate change minister, and Sultan Salauddin Tuku, state minister for fisheries and livestock, attending. The discussions covered agriculture, livestock, fisheries, climate adaptation and the One Health approach.

Hussain noted that both countries depend heavily on agriculture and face rising pressure from climate change, emerging diseases and environmental strain. He said closer work on animal, human and environmental health could support food security, protect rural incomes and make farming communities more resilient. He also pointed to scope for more trade in farm goods, research, mechanisation, livestock breeding and training, along with institutional and technical exchanges.

Mintoo stressed the need for coordinated action on climate change and environmental challenges, including the exchange of knowledge and practical approaches. Tuku said fisheries and livestock underpin food supply, nutrition and village economies, and he called for cooperation on disease prevention, production systems and research. Pakistan's position, as Hussain put it, rests on equal sovereignty and shared development goals.