Daily Times

Pakistan and Oman are enjoying excellent bilateral ties and we should get benefit from each others experiences in agriculture, academia, research and other areas of mutual concerns, said University of Agriculture Faisalabad Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Asif Tanveer.

He was talking at a gift-receiving ceremony from Oman as the Sultan of Oman has gifted a complete five volume set of mango encyclopedia to the University of Agriculture Faisalabad for the students, researchers and teaching community.

He thanked the Sultan of Oman for the valuable gift that will help the campus community get the updated knowledge about the mangoes. He said that the mangoes encyclopedia would be kept at the Main Library where tens of thousands of students used to visit every month. He said around 30 per cent of Omanis originate from Pakistan’s province of Balochistan. These people had settled in Oman after migrating from Balochistan 100 years ago. He added that a joint working group must be constituted to further boost up ties between the two countries.

Registrar Umar Saeed, Director Horticulture Dr Amanullah Malik, Principal officer PRP Prof Dr Jalal Arif, Library Reference AssistantB Bajwa and others attended the ceremony.

In a letter, Ambassador KK Ahsan Wagan said that on the instruction of late Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, the Omani government published this encyclopedia which is the first publication of its kind and well serve a comprehensive reference work on wide range of Oman research and specialized studies on the Mango tree in the Sultanate of Oman and worldwide. It reprints impressive cooperation between the researchers and experts. Its compilation highlights the innovative collaboration between scientific institutions and academics from a number of countries which is published in Arabia, English French and Spanish. He said that UAF scientists had also contributed to this book.

The Encyclopedia comprises five volumes including mango production in Oman; mango production and utilization; mango pests and diseases; mango production around the world; and mango varieties around the world.

Registrar Umar Saeed said that the university was grateful for Oman over this gift and hoped that the bilateral ties will further strengthen in the areas of academia and research. He said that the university was making all-out efforts to conduct the tangible research work. He said that the mango encyclopedia will help the campus community about the information about mangoes.

Principal Officer Public Relations and Publications UAF Prof Dr Jalal Arif that Institute of Horticulture and Department of Entomology will carry out the joint working on the mangoes and the book will help to address the issues of the mango at the national and international level. He praised the printing and material of the book that will prove a hallmark.