BEIJING - Vice-Chancellor, University of Sargodha, Ishtiaq Ahmed said that cooperation in the agriculture sector is very important between Pakistan and China and Pakistani universities which can benefit from Chinese research and technology in this vital field.
Talking to China Economic Net (CEN) over prospects of agricultural cooperation between the all-weather friends and strategic cooperative partners, he said that in the areas of cooperation between China and Pakistan, the most important thing is agriculture.
Ishtiaq Ahmad said he has proposed many directions for cooperation between the universities of two countries. In the current phase of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), agriculture cooperation is identified as a very important area over which the two countries should strive to develop.
The vice-chancellor said China offers a lot of opportunities because of its exceptional progress in agriculture saying, “We can learn from China in term of viable seed production to have a greater per acre yield.”
Pakistan, he said, is lagging behind in seed, pesticide and other forms of agricultural research. In fact, the world is way behind China and it is a great opportunity for Pakistani universities particularly those who specialized in agriculture to learn from what the Chinese have accomplished.
He said Chinese academy of agricultural science is known for advanced research and technology.
“It is our great desire that apart from our other Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with other Chinese institutions, we are focusing on our cooperation with Chinese academy of agricultural sciences in the future,” he added.
It may be mentioned that Pakistan and China have decided to expedite their bilateral cooperation in the field of agriculture under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The cooperation is being extended with a special focus on boosting cooperation in the areas of climate change, desertification control, desalination, water management, and ecological restoration, wetland protection and restoration, wildlife protection, forestry industry development, disaster management and risk reduction and other areas of mutual interest.