ISLAMABAD: The Pak-Tajik Joint Ministerial Commission is likely to meet on July 2 this year to review cooperation between the two countries in different areas of the economy, particularly agriculture.
During a meeting with Minister for National Food Security and Research Sahibzada Mehboob Sultan, Tajikistan Ambassador Ismatullo Naserdin said a meeting of the joint working group was likely to be held on July 2 as part of the Joint Ministerial Commission huddle between the two countries.
During the deliberations, it was highlighted that Pakistan enjoyed good brotherly relations with Tajikistan. Then prime minister of Pakistan paid an official visit to Tajikistan on June 9 and 10, 2015. An agreement on cooperation in the field of agriculture had also been signed between the two countries on March 8, 2011.
Fifth session of the Pak-Tajik Joint Ministerial Commission was held in Pakistan on June 15 and 16, 2016 where it was agreed that the two sides would collaborate in the agreed areas and a joint working group would be formed.
The federal minister for national food security pointed out that Pakistan government accorded high priority to the agriculture sector and was focusing on enhancing cooperation in the field – particularly expanding the country’s trade in agricultural commodities. “Pakistan is self-sufficient in wheat and enjoys surpluses in sugar and rice,” the minister pointed out. “We are also producing citrus fruit and mangoes of high quality, which Tajikistan can import from us.”
The minister added that cooperation in the field of agriculture would also provide an opportunity to strengthen overall economic relations by facilitating the adoption of sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, which would benefit both the sides.