Daily Times

President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday called for further enhancing the quantum of bilateral trade and investment between Pakistan and the Republic of Korea.

He was talking to the members of the Korea-Pakistan Parliamentary Friendship Group in the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, led by its Head Lee Hack Young at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. Members of Parliament including Lee Sangheon, Kim Byungjoo, An Byunggil, and Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Suh Sangpyo attended the meeting.

The president said that Pakistan was desirous of expanding bilateral cooperation with Korea in various fields, such as agriculture, information technology, human resource development, economy, science, culture and education.

Talking to the parliamentary delegation, the president highlighted that Pakistan possessed an enormous youth bulge which, if properly educated and trained, could provide much-needed qualified and cost-competitive human resources to Korean companies.

The president said that Korea could help Pakistan bring vast virgin lands in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under cultivation and substantially increase the yield of agricultural products of the fertile plains of Sindh and Punjab through joint research and development. He also mentioned other areas of cooperation including ICT-based modern agriculture technologies, better disease-resistant seeds, vertical farming and Artificial Intelligence based irrigation system.

“This will prevent water wastage, help in the growth of high-value agriculture products through a controlled environment and ensure food security in the country,” he added.

President Alvi said Korea had been effectively contributing to the economic development of Pakistan and had made sizable investments in many sectors, especially in the vehicle and cellular manufacturing sectors. He said both the countries needed to continue mutual consultations and deliberations to find ways and means to take existing cooperation to the next level. He also emphasized finding out the possibilities of the greater role of Korean companies in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects and their investment in the Special Economic Zones. He assured the delegation that Korean investment in Pakistan was safe and that Pakistan was committed to continuing the investment and trade policies irrespective of change in the government to provide a safe and secure environment to foreign investors.

Meanwhile, President Alvi called for addressing various issues in the health sector, including stunting and malnutrition in children, mother and child healthcare, and lack of health facilities for the masses, especially in rural areas of the country.

The president was talking to the United Nations World Food Programme’s (UNWFP’s) Special Advisor on Mother and Child Nutrition, Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan, who called on him in Islamabad.

He said the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and the UNWFP were collaborating to launch the country’s largest national flagship stunting prevention programme named the Benazir Nashonuma Programme (BNP), which would initially target 1.5 million pregnant women, lactating mothers and children, who were registered with the BISP as the vulnerable segment of the population.