Nepal-Pak to enhance cooperation

Nepal and Pakistan during the Joint Working Group on Agriculture in Islamabad today agreed to exchange germplasm, agricultural mechanisation, bioremediation of sewerage and waste water and land resources.

A five members Nepal-Pak  Joint Working Group (JWG) on Agriculture during its first meeting also agreed to enhance co-operation in water management, bio-fertiliser, and fertiliser use efficiency, integrating alternative energy and high efficiency irrigation system.

The Nepali delegation led by joint secretary at the Ministry of Agricultural Development Rajendra Prasad Adhikari and Pakistani delegation led by director general of National Agricultural Research Centre Dr Muhammad Azeem Khan also agreed to appoint concerned officials of the two sides as focal persons to establish regular communications between the two sides.

The Pakistani experts demanded to lift the ban on the export of poultry products to Nepal. But Nepal replied that it would be mutually agreed in future as currently the recent bird flu incidents in Nepal has made it difficult to lift ban for the time being.

In the meeting it was also unanimously agreed that agriculture co-operation between both the South Asian countries would be very fruitful. They also discussed that new areas for co-operation might be added through mutual understanding between the two countries and communicated through focal persons in future. The Joint Working Group next meeting will be held in Kathmandu next year on mutually convenient date.