On Wednesday, Tariq Bashir Cheema, the minister for national food security and research, informed a Russian team that, as one of the biggest wheat exporters, Russia could assist Pakistan meet its domestic demand through a government-to-government (G2G) arrangement.
The Minister made the remarks at a meeting with a Russian delegation at his office, according to The News.
The opportunities for collaboration and partnership in the agricultural industry were discussed by both parties. Prodintorg Representatives Yousuf Asif and Hamid Ali were part of the delegation, along with Agriculture Attaché Aleksei Kudriavtsev and Attaché Russian Embassy Alexander.
The delegation offered an opportunity for wheat import for Pakistan in order to address the issue of food security, even in the form of barter trade while exchanging food basket commodities. Agriculture Attaché of Russia Aleksei Kudriavtsev hoped that mutually-beneficial cooperation in agriculture will help ensure food security in both countries.
In a separate meeting with US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome, Cheema discussed matters of mutual interest. Cheema welcomed the ambassador and informed the envoy of the challenges being faced by Pakistan due to recent floods and rains.
Our top priorities, he declared, are helping the displaced people return to their homes and recovering as much agricultural land as we can.
Donald Blome assured that Washington was expanding the flood assistance package for Islamabad and stated that the American people stood with Pakistan.
In addition to the help, the ambassador expressed excitement for improved relations and more trade in agriculture between the two nations. He claimed that the US was thinking about opening up the US beef market to Pakistan.
Additionally, the ambassador underlined his desire to collaborate with Pakistan in the area of agriculture. He stated that Pakistan will soon receive high-yield cotton seed technology from the US. The idea was praised by the federal minister, who noted that cotton and dates were the two crops most severely impacted by the recent rains.
