Punjab, Oman agree to expand cooperation in agriculture, livestock

LAHORE  –  Punjab and Oman have agreed to expand cooperation in agriculture, fisheries, livestock and water resources, with Oman offering to establish a shrimp centre in Punjab and both sides discussing increased exports of Pakistani meat and employment opportunities for skilled workers from the province. According to a handout, the understanding was reached during a meeting between Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and Oman’s Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources Saud bin Hamoud bin Ahmed Al Habsi in Muscat on Tuesday.  Mr Al Habsi welcomed Ms Maryam to Oman and congratulated her on receiving the UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour Award. The Omani minister offered to establish the first shrimp centre in Punjab, while the two sides agreed to take measures to increase livestock exports for milk and meat production. Ms Maryam offered to export meat from Punjab to Muscat and said the provincial government was ready to supply high-quality meat at competitive prices in line with international market requirements. She said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would be requested to facilitate the export of live livestock from Punjab to Oman.

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The meeting also discussed easing restrictions on the arrival of skilled workers from Punjab in Oman. Mr Al Habsi agreed to the proposal and said Oman would share its requirements for skilled workers in different sectors. He said skilled workers from Punjab would be welcomed in construction, aquaculture, agriculture and other sectors, adding that Pakistani youth possessed exceptional talent and capabilities. Ms Maryam said thousands of young people in Punjab had already received market-oriented training under the provincial Skill Development Programme. She said young people were a valuable national asset, noting that around 65 per cent of Pakistan’s population comprised youth. She said Pakistani youth had earned worldwide recognition for their talent and that technical and vocational training was being provided in various sectors according to modern requirements and labour-market needs.

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Discussing cooperation in aquaculture, the chief minister said a pilot shrimp-farming programme launched in Punjab last year had proved successful. Trial farming was under way in Shah Garh and Ali Wala in Muzaffargarh and in Sargodha. She said Pakistan’s first state-of-the-art Aquaculture Mall and Shrimp Diagnostic Laboratory would be established at Shah Garh, while modern machinery and techniques were being introduced on the model of China, Norway, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Planning was under way to develop shrimp farming on 30,000 acres across Punjab, including in Bahawalpur, she added.

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Ms Maryam welcomed Omani cooperation in developing Punjab’s aquaculture sector, saying Punjab was the backbone of Pakistan’s agricultural economy.

She also said the construction of 200,000 to 250,000 houses under the ‘Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar’ programme would prove a game changer in the housing sector. She said people from other provinces were moving to Punjab in search of better employment opportunities and a brighter future.

The chief minister praised the progress made by Oman in fisheries and other sectors under the leadership of Mr Al Habsi and expressed hope that the two sides would benefit from greater cooperation.

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Sharing a personal reflection on her visit, Ms Maryam said former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif had described it as a matter of good fortune when he saw her off for Muscat.

“My father, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Sahib, told me that I was fortunate. He said that despite serving as prime minister three times, he could not visit Muscat,” she said.

Mr Al Habsi welcomed Punjab’s first woman chief minister to Muscat and reiterated Oman’s interest in Pakistani skilled workers, saying the country continued to have demand for workers in several sectors.

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