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Pak-Iran joint venture for Afghanistan

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran are considering cooperation in a venture to develop the livestock sector in Afghanistan.

The cooperation between the two countries will be undertaken from the platform of the Economic Coop-eration Organisation (ECO), a senior government official told Daily Times.

He said Pakistan and Iran had the expertise to develop the livestock sector in Afghanistan which is a neighbour of both countries.

The ECO which comprises Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz-stan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan has been working to promote cooperation between the member countries to solve the numerous challenges facing the region.

The official said the ECO headquarters in Iran had informed the livestock authorities in Islamabad through the foreign ministry about a joint venture between Islamabad and Tehran in developing animal herds in Afghanistan where the consumption of meat is comparatively higher.

“We think Afghanistan’s meat requirement is higher as Afghans prefer mutton and beef to vegetables,” the official said.

After viewing these estimates, the government of Pakistan is of the view that the meat shortage in Pakistan is caused by the alleged smuggling of animals into Afghanistan, the official said.

This also makes meat dearer in Pakistan which has already permitted the import of live animals from India. Meat prices have also been on the rise due to the shortage of animals, the official said.

Due to this factor, the government is of the view that both the formal and informal sector for animals be developed in Afghanistan to help Pakistan meet its meat requirements.

The official said the proposal sent from the ECO secretariat was being considered by the authorities concerned. The modalities for cooperation in this regard are being finalised, the offical added.

The official said Pakistan had been facing a drought situation for the last few years which had adversely affected the livestock sector in the country.

This has resulted in a shortage of animals and has resulted in the prices of meat increasing to a record high, the official said.

Pakistan has already finalised a new livestock policy.

“Every policy being made in Pakistan, which directly or indirectly refers to foodstuff has always been linked to food requirements in Afghanistan as Pakistan informally includes Afghanistan’s wheat requirement in its national requirement, the official said.

He said the ECO proposal was encouraging as a developed animal sector would benefit Pakistan and Iran. Pakistan and Iran will look into how to increase the numbers of goats and sheep in Afghanistan which are largely looked after in traditional herds.

Since the recent rainfalls have removed the effects of drought in Afghanistan to a large extent, there is definitely a likelihood that people will again invest in livestock, the official said.

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