ISLAMABAD — Pakistan and Italy are actively working to strengthen bilateral collaboration in the agriculture sector, with plans to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on professional capacity building and agricultural extension early next year. The MoU is expected to focus on technical and vocational training aimed at enhancing agricultural skills in Pakistan.
Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain met with Italian Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry Francesco Lollobrigida in Rome on Thursday. During the meeting, Minister Hussain invited his Italian counterpart to visit Pakistan early next year to formalize the MoU, which will serve as a milestone in deepening agricultural cooperation.
Mr. Lollobrigida expressed his enthusiasm for finalizing the MoU, emphasizing its objective to strengthen agricultural skills and expertise through modern training techniques. He highlighted ongoing support from the Italian Trade Agency, which opened its Islamabad office in mid-2023 and is backing a 20 million euros horticulture project aimed at creating employment opportunities for Pakistani workers domestically and abroad.
The meeting also covered bilateral progress under the Labour Accord, with Minister Hussain reaffirming Pakistan’s readiness to host the sixth Joint Economic Commission and the second Joint Working Group, following the first session held in Rome in September. The countries had signed a MoU on labour cooperation in May 2025, broadening the scope of bilateral engagement.
Focus on Olive Sector and Modern Techniques
The two ministers reviewed ongoing olive-sector projects, including the Olive Culture Scale-Up Project funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). These initiatives build on earlier programs, such as the Olive Culture Project (2022-2024) and Promotion of Olive Cultivation on Commercial Scale (Phase II, 2021-2026).
Minister Hussain thanked Italy for its continued technical support and requested further collaboration in areas such as modern agricultural machinery, research, and improved olive oil extraction techniques. In response, Mr. Lollobrigida provided a briefing on Italy’s quality control systems for olive oil production and offered to share expertise with Pakistan. He also proposed forming a joint technical group to follow up on research, mechanization, and modern extraction techniques, and mentioned that Italy would soon propose an additional MoU on olive oil development.
The agreement between Pakistan and Italy is expected to significantly boost technical skills, promote modern agricultural practices, and enhance economic cooperation in key sectors such as horticulture and olive cultivation.
