Islamabad: Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced that he will be sending as many as 1,000 students to its all-weather friend China for agricultural training, as per local media reports. Shehbaz made the announcement at the Yangling Agricultural Demonstration Base in Xi’an city on Saturday after concluding his five-day official visit to China.
The 72-year-old Pakistani premier also invited China’s North West Agriculture and Forestry University to open a campus in the cash-strapped country. He directed the Pakistan ambassador to China and relevant authorities to finalise the matters with the Chinese authorities in this regard, Geo News reported.
Before making the announcement, Shehbaz toured various parts of the facility and was shown Pakistani products at the Pakistan Pavilion. He was also given a briefing about the working of the Yangling Base.
Why is Pakistan sending students to China?
According to the PM, Pakistan is sending its students to China for advanced training in the agriculture sector to increase its output. “Pakistan is striving to modernise its agriculture sector to increase per acre yield of crops. Increasing the agricultural exports is one of our top-most priorities,” Sharif told Chinese officials.
Agriculture is an important part of Pakistan's economy, contributing 46 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP) and employing 37 per cent of the country's labour force. Shehbaz's visit to China came as Pakistan is struggling with a prolonged economic crisis by pursuing foreign investments and enhanced trade opportunities, while also seeking another International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout to keep economic reforms on track. According to Dawn, Pakistan's farmers have suffered significant financial losses on nearly all major crops this year.
Cotton prices, initially set at Rs 8,500 per maund (or 40kg) by the government, fell to Rs 6,000 after production, causing heavy losses. A similar situation occurred with maize, where prices dropped to half of their pre-sowing value, leaving farmers without much of their income.
Shehbaz's visit to China
Shehabaz later flew back to the country on Saturday, accompanied by his high-level delegation. During his five-day official visit, Shehbaz met Chinese President Xi Jinping and they affirmed consensus on the upgradation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and advancing high-quality development of the multi-billion dollar project in the second phase.
According to the state media, the two leaders showed consensus on the upgradation of the CPEC and advancing the development of the mega project in the second phase. The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan's Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The BRI is seen as an attempt by China to further its influence abroad with infrastructure projects funded by Chinese investments across the world. China has also invested billions in various power projects and road networks in Pakistan under the $65 billion CPEC plan, but the implementation of various projects has slowed in recent months.
(with inputs from PTI)
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