ISLAMABAD: Pakistani and Chinese companies have signed 29 Memoranda of Understanding worth $ 4.5 billion, underscoring the confidence of Chinese investors in Pakistan’s agriculture and food sectors.
The development was announced by Pakistan’s Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain while speaking to the media in Islamabad on Tuesday.
The minister said the MoUs were signed during the recently concluded Pakistan–China Agriculture Investment Conference.
The minister noted that the agreements span ten high-impact agricultural and allied sub-sectors, including food processing and value addition, agri-technology, seeds and plant protection, livestock and dairy, meat and poultry, fruits and vegetables, fisheries and aquaculture, animal feed, post-harvest infrastructure, and agricultural inputs.
The Minister said the scale and depth of investment commitments reflect a decisive shift from dialogue to on-ground, investment-led collaboration.
He went on to say that the conference was specifically structured to deliver tangible outcomes through direct B2B matchmaking, targeted sectoral engagement, and project-based investment facilitation, rather than conventional discussions.
Rana Tanveer Hussain stressed that these investments will modernise Pakistan’s agricultural value chains, introduce advanced production and processing technologies, and significantly enhance productivity.
He stated that the inflow of capital and technology is expected to create large-scale employment, especially in rural areas, enhance farm-to-market linkages, and minimise post-harvest losses, ultimately boosting farmer incomes and improving rural livelihoods.
Pakistan and China have longstanding strategic, political, economic, defence, and cultural relations. Both Islamabad and Beijing maintain close coordination on regional and international issues, frequently supporting each other’s core interests at multilateral forums.
Islamabad also views Beijing as a key investment partner, which has funnelled billions of dollars into the country under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) energy and infrastructure project for over a decade.
China is also a key trading partner for Pakistan. According to China’s General Administration of Customs, its bilateral trade with Pakistan reached $23.06 billion in 2024, up by 11.1 percent on a year-on-year basis.
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar travelled to China to co-chair the seventh round of the Pakistan–China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue in Beijing.
