Moscow can help Pakistan meet wheat demand: official

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Tariq Bashir Cheema has said the international community should help Pakistan in the rehabilitation of flood victims.

He said this during his meeting with a Russian delegation at his office on Wednesday. Prodintorg Representative Yousuf Asif said that Pakistan and Russia can mutually benefit from enhancing trade cooperation in agriculture. He noted Russia is one of the largest global exporters of wheat and can help Pakistan meet the local demand of wheat under the Government-to-Government (G2G) framework.

Both the sides discussed prospects of cooperation and partnership in the agriculture sector. The delegation included Prodintorg Representatives Yousuf Asif and Hamid Ali, Agriculture Attaché Aleksei Kudriavtsev and Attaché Russian Embassy Alexander.

Tariq Bashir Cheema said that the agriculture sector has suffered colossal losses because of the recent rains and floods, the real assessment was still awaited. He said that his government is making all-out efforts to support the affected farmer community.

“Pakistani rice is of good quality. Russia looks forward to increasing import of rice from Pakistan,” said Yousuf Asif. He added Russia is increasing the number of authorised exporters of rice to Russia in Pakistan. He also showed willingness to import potatoes from Pakistan. There is also a huge trade potential of potatoes’ export to Russia from Pakistan as Russia is a major importer of potatoes, said Yousuf Asif.

The delegation offered an opportunity of 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 the countries.

Earlier, Ambassador of the USA to Pakistan Donald Blome called on Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Tariq Bashir Cheema to discuss matters of mutual interest. Cheema welcomed the ambassador and appreciated the cordial relations between the two countries. He said that Pakistan is facing challenges due to recent floods and rains.

“Our priority is to recover as much agricultural land as possible and help the displaced people to resettle back in their houses,” he said. Donald Blome said that the people of the United States stand with Pakistan. He said that the US government was increasing the flood assistance package for Pakistan.

The ambassador said that apart from the assistance, he looks forward to expanding agriculture trade between the two countries and building stronger relations. He said the US was considering allowing Pakistan access to the US beef market.

The ambassador also expressed his interest to work with Pakistan in the agriculture sector. He said that the US is looking forward to introducing high-yield cotton seed technology in Pakistan. The federal minister welcomed the initiative and said that in the recent floods, cotton and dates were the most affected crops.

Donald Blome said that the US has a substantial commitment to address climate change through resilience and mitigation measures. “Pakistan is among the top 10 countries affected by climate change,” he said. He showed interest to work with Pakistan’s government to address the future challenges.