On November 4, 2020, a meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on Socio-economic Development under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework was held through video link. Senior officials and representatives of the federal ministries and provincial governments and representatives of the Chinese embassy attended this meeting to review the progress of fast-track and priority areas. Some of the key areas which were focused on included agriculture, education, health, poverty alleviation and vocational training.[1]
Among the priority areas, both countries have agreed to enhance cooperation in agriculture sector. Cooperation in agriculture sector is one of the seven pillars of CPEC’s long-term plan. However, this cooperation formally started after the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to China in 2018. Later in May 2019, a comprehensive framework was signed for collaboration in major areas of agriculture between the two countries. These included storage of agricultural produce, livestock breeding, research and development in new and high yield variety of seeds along with pests and disease control.[2] Later on, Islamabad and Beijing signed an MoU for bilateral cooperation in agriculture during President Alvi’s visit to China in March 2020. This led to the establishment of a joint working group on agriculture under CPEC. Under this understanding, the areas focused for joint working include technology transfer, collaboration in research and development, enhancing agricultural trade, cooperation in agro-industry, livestock and diary.
