The Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) has offered to provide expertise to Saudi Arabia in the field of desert, dry land and peri-urban agriculture. This came during a meeting between Muhammad Naeem Khan, Pakistani Ambassador to the Kingdom, and Dr. Fahd Bin Abdulrehman Balghunaim, Minister for Agriculture, Tuesday. The ambassador apprised Dr. Balghunaim on the existing potential between the two countries for bilateral cooperation in the fields of agriculture, agricultural research, livestock, food and meat processing and dairy development. Dr. Balghunaim, according to a press release issued by the Pakistani Consulate General here, evinced keen interest in developing closer cooperation with Pakistan in the field of agriculture and livestock. Separately, Ambassador Khan also held a meeting with Dr. Nizar Obeid Madani, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and discussed matters of mutual interest. The ambassador apprised Dr. Madani on the current flood situation in Pakistan and the need for the international community's support for the government efforts to provide timely relief and assistance to the flood affected people. Meanwhile, Abdul Salik Khan, Consul General of Pakistan, called on Adnan H. Mandourah, Secretary General of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) and discussed with him matters of bilateral trade and economy. Consul General Khan lauded the professionalism of JCCI and its contribution toward strengthening Saudi economy. He said that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have a strong strategic partnership; however the need was to accrue the dividends of this political affinity in the form of setting forth a strong economic relationship between the two countries. Mandourah underlined the need for a more frequent exchange of trade delegations between the two countries, and emphasized the need to use the video conference technology for timely and substantive bilateral interactions between the entrepreneurs and officials of both countries.
