Day: September 11, 2021

Islamabad, September 11, 2021 (PPI-OT):Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Moin-ul-Haque has asked leading Chinese entrepreneurs to benefit from investment-friendly environment in Pakistan. He was addressing the participants of China-Pakistan Trade and Business Forum held on the sidelines of China-ASEAN Expo being held in Nanning, China’s Guangxi Region.

The ambassador said a number of ongoing and planned projects being completed under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, provide tremendous investment opportunities for the Chinese companies. He said there are vast investment opportunities in the special economic zones being developed under the CPEC, out of which three have already been developed.

For more information, contact:
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Government of Pakistan
4th Floor, Cabinet Block, Pak. Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-9103557
Email: info@moib.gov.pk
Website: http://www.moib.gov.pk

Islamabad, September 11, 2021 (PPI-OT):A third consignment of relief goods from government of Pakistan reached Afghanistan’s Khost city today, which was received by local Afghan authorities. The relief goods include food and medicines. Pakistan’s Ambassador in Kabul Mansoor Ahmad Khan in a tweet said Pakistan’s humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan is continuing effectively.

For more information, contact:
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Government of Pakistan
4th Floor, Cabinet Block, Pak. Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-9103557
Email: info@moib.gov.pk
Website: http://www.moib.gov.pk

Islamabad, September 11, 2021 (PPI-OT):Pakistan and China have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote cooperation in international arbitration between both countries. The MoU was signed by Pakistan’s Center for International Investment and Commercial Arbitration and China’s Guangzhou Arbitration Commission in Beijing.

Under the agreement, the two sides will explore new paths for development of online dispute settlement mechanisms, jointly cope with the increasing number of transnational disputes and offer international arbitration services in a better way.

For more information, contact:
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Government of Pakistan
4th Floor, Cabinet Block, Pak. Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-9103557
Email: info@moib.gov.pk
Website: http://www.moib.gov.pk

Islamabad, September 11, 2021 (PPI-OT):Pakistan has welcomed a new report released by the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres setting out his vision for the future of global cooperation, saying the UN system must be reformed. Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the world body Munir Akram at a meeting of General Assembly in New York said on Saturday, we are facing a surfeit of conflicts and disputes that require attention at the level of leadership and of those concerned at the highest levels.

He said without such engagement it would be difficult to resolve some of these enduring conflicts and disputes. At the same time, he added, a global arms race is taking place that has had no parallel in history and that require political attention and political action, at the level of the international community and the United Nations. Munir Akram said we must reform, the UN system, the governance system, the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council.

For more information, contact:
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Government of Pakistan
4th Floor, Cabinet Block, Pak. Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-9103557
Email: info@moib.gov.pk
Website: http://www.moib.gov.pk

Islamabad, September 11, 2021 (PPI-OT):Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam has said National Agriculture Commission will be set up for the development in agricultural education and research sector. Chairing a meeting at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, he said that that increment in per acre production, value addition, empowering small farmers, tangible research in agriculture and rural development were prerequisite for the uplift of the country and food security. He said the government has mapped out comprehensive five policies on five major crops in order to boost up per acre productivity, ensure food security and agriculture development.

He said this year, per acre what production has boosted up which was stagnant for the last ten years, resulting in the significant increase of 2.2 million ton in the national wheat production. He said that it is increased by 1.5 ton per acre. Talking about the cotton, he said that production of cotton in Punjab is touching 4.5m bales at an increase of approximately 8.5 per cent from last year. Overall cotton production is likely to reach 8.46 million bales. He said that the attack of and Whitefly, pinball worm and CLCV remained significant which had adversely affected the production of cotton.

He also shed light that provision of certified seed, value addition and mechanization was one of challenges in which agriculture experts should play their pivotal role. He said that the government has disbursed Rs 4 billion credit to the small farmers community, less than 12 acre, which is the 90 percent of the farming community He said the provision of quality school and health facility was essential at rural level that will lower down burden in the cities and the will help strengthen the rural development Talking about fruits, he said that country was producing the excellent fruit but export is the negligible.

He said that the value addition and the adaptation of the international standard are prerequisite to earn the foreign exchange. He said that it is matter of grave concern that we import edible oil and pulses worth billions of the rupees instead of the producing at the domestic level. Talking about research, he said that the spending on research and development remained minimum from 1991 to 2012 in Pakistan. The impact can be seen on the per hectare production of major crops like wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton and maize. He said that agriculture council must be setup to analyse the demand and supply of agricultural students in the country.

He said that under cultivation land in the country was 50 million hectare out of which 32 million is the irrigated. He said that we had ignored the agriculture sector for the last 25 years that is a matter of serious concern. He said that agriculture sector is a powerful sector that was employing 43 percent of man force. He said that neighbouring countries are progressing with a large pace whereas we were far-lagging behind in modern agriculture practices. He added that no nation can make the development in the modern era without investing on Human Resource Development.

We need to learn from the other nations experiences. The modern seed technology will not only reduce the production cost but also make the crop profitable. This will enable both the farmers and the country to move towards prosperity. He said that we had been ahead of China and Korea five decade ago. But now we are far lagging behind. The both countries invested on education and learn from other nations experiences. He called for curriculum reforms in the agriculture and reverse engineering. UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that FSc Agriculture should be revived that will help produce the dedicated agriculturists. He said that agriculture as a subject must be revived at the school level.

He said that the blend of corn and wheat be introduced to cope with increasing malnutrition issue. He said that with the help of KOICA Pak Korea Nutrition Center had been established at the UAF to fight with challenge. He said that UAF was making all out efforts of the farming community, agriculture and rural development with help of trained manpower, research and outreach. He said that there is the need to bring the reform in the educational system to facilitate the people living in rural areas. Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Anas Sarwar said that the quality milk producing center must be set up. He said that country was importing animal vaccination worth billions of rupees. All deans gave the presentations on the occasion.

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Islamabad, September 11, 2021 (PPI-OT):On the 20th anniversary of September 11 terrorist attacks, the people and government of Pakistan remember and pray for those who lost their precious lives that day. We reiterate our strong condemnation of those horrific events and reaffirm our support and solidarity for the families and loved ones of the innocent victims. While especially honouring the memories of the victims of 11 September 2001, we also pay tribute to all victims of terrorism around the world including men, women, the elderly and children. The events of 11 September 2001 remind us of the dangers the world confronts in the form of terrorism and its devastating effects. Over the last two decades, the international community has fought together against terrorism.

However, the complex challenges posed by terrorism call for further strengthening international resolve and unity and to prevent and counter this menace, in all its forms and manifestations, including state-terrorism against people living under foreign occupation in disputed territories. It is also imperative to comprehensively address the root causes of terrorism. Terrorism has no justification. Any attempts to associate terrorism with any particular people, nationality, civilization, religion, race or ethnicity are condemnable. The new and emerging threats in the form of right-wing, Islamophobia, domestic, racially or ethnically motivated and other forms of extremist tendencies leading to terrorism necessitate effective responses around the world.

In order to completely eradicate terrorism, it is vital to eschew double standards, myopic and selective approaches and vested, narrow political agendas. Pakistan has been an active partner of the international community in the global fight against terrorism over the last two decades. Pakistan has played a leading role in this struggle and has demonstrated its earnest commitment through unprecedented sacrifices in the form of over 80,000 casualties and economic losses of over $ 150 billion. No other country in modern history has played a matching role in combating terrorism.

We also condemn in strongest possible terms the terrorist attacks that have taken place in Pakistan, especially over the past few months, which were planned and supported from across our borders. Pakistan has exposed the planners, supporters and financiers of terrorist incidents committed on its soil and will continue to do so in future. Pakistan is also resolved to continue its efforts for consolidating the gains achieved in the fight against terrorism, including by thwarting the designs of the spoilers of peace who, driven by extremist ideology and geo-political agendas, use terrorism as an instrument of state policy. Pakistan will continue to play its rightful role in the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and the maintenance of peace and security in the region and beyond.

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Principal Information Officer,
Press Information Department (PID)
Tel: +92-51-9252323, +92-51-9252324
Fax: +92-51-9252325, +92-51-9252326
Email: piopid@gmail.com
Website: www.pid.gov.pk

Islamabad, September 11, 2021 (PPI-OT):‘Undeniably today, we are at the inflection point in history’ said Ambassador Aamir Khan, Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan at the United Nations while speaking at the United Nations Day on South-South Cooperation “South-South cooperation: solidarity in support of a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable future” today. While mentioning that around 170 million people have been pushed into extreme poverty; millions of jobs have been lost; fear of famine and food shortage has posed an existential threat from climate change.

He therefore urged that “we are to build back better South-South and Triangular Cooperation must focus on first, building resilient economies and societies, improving health sector, regional value chains in health-related products and services, food security, social safety nets, and water access and quality. Second, facilitating connectivity, as COVID-19 led to almost an entire lockdown of transportation. Third, prioritizing sustainable and resilient recovery, providing policy solutions for green and digital recovery through investments in sustainable infrastructure. Scaled-up investment in sustainable infrastructure – $ 1 trillion per year – is essential for the transition to a dynamic “green” global economy.

Fourth, is the area of science and technology. We need to align the intellectual property regime of the world with the SDGs”. Ambassador Aamir Khan, also insisted on bridging the digital divide, calling it as ‘the pathway to a transition to modern economies’ that ‘can provide developing countries chances to leapfrog into development domain”. He further expressed his concern over the impact of COVID-19 pandemic that have ‘exacerbated the profound economic and existing social inequalities and revealed the weakness of the current economic development models’. He insisted that “without sustained collective action, the pandemic could leave a legacy of widening inequalities within and between countries, with the most vulnerable left further behind”.

“I believe the vaccine is the first step in this direction that we must make it a global public good. We would not be able to meet the global demand unless vaccine production is enhanced through facilities in developing countries” he said further. Comparing the progress of the developed countries that are recovering back owing to the strong stimulus measures of around 17 trillion, he expressed his concern that the “developing countries are sinking deeper into a cycle of poverty, unsustainable debt, and austerity due to their inability to borrow on favourable conditions and stimulate their economies”.

He remarked that “the pandemic can only be defeated through global and cross-border coordination and collaboration He however, expressed his hope over the welcome fact that “in its 43 years South-South trade has expanded exponentially” and many countries in the Global South have built thriving economies and societies, and in recent times, are driving much of the global economic dynamism”.

Ambassador Aamir Khan concluded with the sign of hope that “the greatest potential for production and manufacturing still resides with the developing countries, projects are more profitable, in developing countries. We have the largest segment of the world’s population in terms of both consumption and production, and therefore the greatest potential”. “We have constructed institutions of cooperation across the world, and we should take pride in the fact of the institutions such as the ASEAN, AIIB that has promoted South-South cooperation to an unprecedented level and provides an example for many of us in the various regions to work” he informed.

“In my region China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a shining example of South-South Cooperation. Its benefits transcend borders. The Special Economic Zones (SEZs) along the corridor provide immense potential for economic growth, job creation, and poverty eradication” he said. The United Nations Office for South- South Cooperation for organized this high-level commemoration of United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation. Pakistan aligned its statement with the statement delivered by the Permanent Representative of Guinea on behalf of G77 and China.

For more information, contact:
Principal Information Officer,
Press Information Department (PID)
Tel: +92-51-9252323, +92-51-9252324
Fax: +92-51-9252325, +92-51-9252326
Email: piopid@gmail.com
Website: www.pid.gov.pk