Pakistan’s Ambassador to United States Masood Khan has said that close cooperation between Pakistan and United States is critical in ensuring food security especially in the wake of devastating floods that have inundated one third of the country and washed away 4 million acres of farmland.

Ambassador Masood Khan expressed these views while talking to a visiting delegation from Pakistan at Embassy of Pakistan in Washington DC.

The visiting delegation shared details of their meetings that were aimed at promoting Pak-US bilateral cooperation in the agriculture sector particularly supporting cotton crop with timely availability of ‘BT’ seeds.

The delegation also apprised about their interactions to promote bilateral exchange programs especially enhancing collaboration between agriculture universities and research institutes of the two countries.

Ambassador Masood Khan said that the Ukrainian crisis coupled with devastating floods in Pakistan have compounded the issue of food security manifold and thus needed immediate attention.

He appreciated the Government and the people of United States for standing beside Pakistan in the aftermath of unprecedented floods that has adversely hit farming community in particular.

Appreciating flood assistance of 66 million dollars by the US government, the Ambassador highlighted that 10 million dollars have been allocated for food security in the country.

He briefed the delegation about the efforts to promote, strengthen and institutionalize bilateral cooperation and transforming agriculture sector of the country on modern lines with the help of US expertise.

Ambassador Khan assured the delegation of Embassy’s full support in connecting relevant departments and officials with their US counterparts and keeping a tab on continuous progress in the mutually agreed areas of cooperation.

Source: Radio Pakistan