FAISALABAD: Indonesian Ambassador Iwan S Amri has said that Pakistan and Indonesia will further strengthen their ties in trade, research and agriculture sectors. Addressing an international conference on health, nutrition and development arranged by the National Institute of Food Sciences and Technology (NIFSAT) and Faculty of Food, Nutrition and Home Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), here on Monday, he said that palm oil production was important to economy of Indonesia as the country was the biggest exporter worth 22 billion US dollars, whereas Pakistan share in palm oil import was 10 per cent. He said that people in South Asia were using Basmati ghee that was made of the animal fats. It was not only the matter of health but also habit and culture, he added. He said that Indonesian Bogor Agricultural University, Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and University of Agriculture Faisalabad would enhance trade and research ties to boost the academic and industrial linkages. He said both countries had the similarities in culture and way of living. Talking about women, he said that women empowerment was essential for the development of any country as they played a significant role in the uplift of any society. He said that Pakistan had been producing one of the best mangoes and rice and his county was importing it. He added that Pakistan was the fourth biggest ethanol exporter of the world and Indonesia was getting benefit from the produce.
UAF Vice-Chancellor Dr Zafar Iqbal Randhawa said that Office of Pro-Vice Chancellor, comprising six luxurious rooms, would be provided to the industry to set up their offices for academia-industry linkages so that they could devise demand driven mechanism for research and help generate more employment for poverty alleviation. He said that strong academia-industry linkages were essential to fight the challenges of modern era and to alleviate poverty from the country. He said that the academia-industry strengthened ties would help raise income of people, way of living and to meet the challenges of the modern era. He urged the researchers to work on real issues of a common man. He added that Indonesia and Pakistan strengthened relations would help address the common challenges and to get benefit from each other experiences.
Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Shabbir Hussain Chawla said that they were enjoying the excellent ties with the UAF. He said that Faisalabad was the second most revenue generating city. He added that palm oil was the most famous vegetable oil in the world. He added that there was a need to dispel the misconception about palm oil that it was not good for health. He viewed that we had to ensure proper procedures and measures for the production of the palm oil for the health of the people. He lauded the steps being taken on the part of the UAF for the industry-academia linkages.
Dean Faculty of Food, Nutrition and Home Sciences Dr Masood Sadiq Butt said that the UAF collaboration with Indonesia and our homeland particularly food industry would pave the way for further prosperity. He added that his faculty was coming up with the out-of-the-box solutions to the problems of the industry and common man. DG NIFSAT Dr Tahir Zahoor said that conference would bring the industry and academia closer.