Pakistan and Turkiye have reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening cooperation in diverse sectors, including agriculture, livestock, vaccine production, and value-added food exports.

The commitment was expressed at a meeting between Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain and Ambassador of Turkiye to Pakistan Dr. Irfan Neziroglu in Islamabad today.

Both sides agreed to translate the longstanding strategic partnership between Pakistan and Turkiye into practical initiatives through institutional linkages, technical collaboration, and direct engagement between relevant ministries, universities, and experts.

The Minister highlighted that the Prime Minister decided to seek Turkiye's technical support for developing Pakistan's indigenous Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine production capacity.

In this regard, the Turkish Ambassador expressed his country's willingness to extend technical cooperation and confirmed that a Turkish technical delegation would visit Pakistan.

The two sides also discussed the findings of recent exchanges between Pakistani and Turkish livestock experts, including a Pakistani delegation's visit to Turkiye to study its livestock sector. The delegation is preparing its report to identify practical areas for adopting relevant Turkish expertise in Pakistan.

The meeting also reviewed Turkiye's previous support through TIKA for an olive oil production facility in Muzaffarabad, which has reportedly benefited around 5,000 farmers. Pakistan expressed interest in expanding similar initiatives to olive-producing areas of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chakwal, and Attock, with emphasis on processing, value addition, and improved market opportunities.

Both sides emphasized the importance of moving towards implementation through technical teams, institutional cooperation, and targeted joint initiatives.