Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has described the capacity-building initiative for Pakistani agricultural graduates in China as a transformative step for Pakistan's agrarian economy, crediting Chinese expertise and the enduring "iron brotherhood" between the two countries.
In an interview with China Media Group released on Friday, Sharif reflected on his official visit to China in June last year, during which he proposed training 1,000 Pakistani agricultural graduates at Chinese universities, particularly at Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, located in northwest China's Shaanxi Province -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's home province.
"When I was here in my last official visit, during my banquet meeting with my very dear President Xi Jinping, I raised these points of discussion, and I told him that, 'I'm visiting Shaanxi province, your home province'. He said, 'Really?' I said, 'Yes, tomorrow'. And then he immediately gave instructions for my visit to Shaanxi Agricultural University. And this was an eye-opener. This university has the most modern techniques to promote agriculture not only in China, but any part of the world," said Sharif.
"So I said, I will immediately decide to send 1,000 fresh agri-graduates to get modern training in this university, and of course, other universities. And as I speak, more than 500 students have already been trained or are under active training, and the rest of the batches will be visiting soon to other universities of China," he said.
The prime minister emphasized that the initiative would empower young Pakistani professionals to return home equipped with cutting-edge agricultural knowledge. Their expertise, he said, would directly benefit local farmers and boost production of key crops, including wheat, sugarcane, cotton, maize, and rice.
"This will be a game-changer. They will go back to Pakistan and assist our farmers, our agri-community how to use most modern techniques, implement hybrid seeds, and of course, modern techniques to enhance our agri-production in wheat, in sugar cane, in cotton, in maize, rice, and so on and so forth, and then on top of it, build small, medium enterprises in the rural areas to use these fruits, these vegetables, to convert them into high-value-added products to be consumed not only in Pakistan, but exporting to Middle Eastern countries and then increasing our GDP, our exports. This will be a game-changer. And there, I look forward to seeking cooperation from our Chinese company. This is all-weather friendship. This is iron brother friendship," he said.
China-supported agricultural training program to become 'game-changer' for Pakistan: PM
