Islamabad (TDI): In a meeting between Pakistan’s Commerce Minister and China’s Ambassador to the country, Jiang Zaidong, on the sidelines of the Pakistan-China Agriculture Investment Conference on Monday, both sides discussed pathways to expand trade in agri products.
Pakistan’s delegation included stakeholders from the country’s trade ecosystem, including the Secretary of Commerce, the Chief Executive of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Commerce Minister, Jam Kamal Khan, emphasized on “leveraging government-to-government (G2G) cooperation, in addition to business-to business (B2B) channels, to accelerate trade growth and deepen the economic partnership between the two all-weather friends,” as detailed in an official press note from the Ministry.
The two sides also discussed “concrete opportunities” to amp up agricultural trade, which is currently more than $1billion annually with Pakistan having a surplus.
“Both sides engaged in a detailed review of the existing trade landscape and potential avenues for expansion. The Chinese Ambassador acknowledged the critical role of robust agricultural trade” the Ministry’s statement further read.
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Ambassador Zaidong also apprised the Pakistani delegation of China’s import regulatory framework, while both sides vowed to keep the momentum going through regular dialogue and focused discussions.
As Pakistan and China are celebrating the 75 years of diplomatic relations this year, 2026 is lined up with high-level meetings, conferences, regular visits, and a variety of other events.
The year opened with the Foreign Minister-level strategic dialogue, for which Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, flew to China and unveiled the official logo of 75 years celebrations, alongside his Chinese counterpart.
The Pakistan-China Agriculture Investment Conference was another key event in this regards, and concluded in the signing of 79 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs); worth $4.5billion, between Pakistani and Chinese companies.
The MoUs span over ten agricultural subsectors, including food processing and value addition, agri-technology, seeds and plant protection, livestock and dairy, meat and poultry, fruits and vegetables, fisheries and aquaculture, animal feed, post-harvest infrastructure, and agricultural inputs.
