Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has directed that transparency and merit should be the top priority in the selection of students being sent for agricultural training in China.

Chairing a meeting in Islamabad, he instructed to form a committee to resolve complaints of students who do not meet the selection criteria during the scrutiny of applications through the portal.

Shehbaz Sharif said the government will bear all expenses for the modern agricultural training of Pakistani students in China, and that the first batch of students will soon depart for China. He mentioned that ten percent special quota has been reserved for students from Balochistan for this agricultural training opportunity.

The Prime Minister said China is Pakistan's longstanding friend and its development in the agricultural sector is unparalleled.

He expressed gratitude to the Chinese leadership and universities for providing Pakistani students the opportunity to receive modern agricultural training in their country.

The Prime Minister was informed that students from the agricultural sector had submitted their applications through the portal in a transparent manner. Out of 1,287 applications, 711 students met the established criteria for training. These students also include candidates from Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The meeting was informed that these students will be sent to China in two batches.

The first batch of 300 students will receive training in areas such as irrigation improvement, livestock disease diagnosis and monitoring, livestock breeding and modern genetics, and the preparation and processing of modern seeds. The first batch of students will depart for China in March.

The second batch of 400 students will be sent to China in the middle of this year. They will receive training in the use of modern machinery in agriculture, rapid crop growth, the use of modern technology in agriculture including artificial intelligence, and fruit and vegetable processing.