ISLAMABAD, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday encouraged the country's young agricultural graduates leaving for China to learn modern Chinese practices to help transform Pakistan's farming sector.
Addressing a ceremony for the second batch of 300 students under the Prime Minister's Initiative for Capacity Building of 1,000 Agricultural Graduates in China -- a government-to-government program launched last year, Sharif said Pakistan's progress was directly linked with the growth of its agriculture sector.
He said Pakistan's future prosperity was closely tied to strengthening its agrarian economy, which remains the backbone of the country.
He noted that the initiative was launched after he visited China's Shaanxi Province, where he was impressed by the quality of practical training at local agricultural universities. He thanked the Chinese leadership for extending support to Pakistan in promoting youth development and agricultural modernization.
Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong congratulated the students on obtaining valuable learning opportunities and believed that they will become the pillars of Pakistan's national development and the bridge of China-Pakistan friendship.
Speaking to Xinhua after the ceremony, Mutasaddiq Ali, an agricultural engineer specializing in farm mechanization, said he had "very high expectations" from the training.
"China has developed the latest precision agriculture techniques, and if such technologies are introduced in Pakistan, they will be highly beneficial for our farmers," he said, adding that higher yields and reduced losses would directly support rural livelihoods.
