RECORDER REPORT

FAISALABAD: Nigerian Nassarrawa State Executive Governor Umaru Tanko Al-makura on Friday said bilateral ties between Nigeria and Pakistan would be further strengthened especially in the field of agriculture to get benefit from the each other potential.

He was talking to University of Agriculture Faisalabad Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan at the Syndicate Room. All deans, directors, Registrar Muhammad Hussain, Treasurer Umer Qadir, Controller Abdul Wahid, Principal Officer Public Relations and Publications Dr Jalal Arif and other officials also attended the meeting.

He said Pakistan and Nigeria were enjoying good relations. He said his country was a natural oil producing county, adding that now his government had put agriculture in the one of main manifesto. He said collaboration especially in rice, sugarcane and citrus needed to be strengthened to get benefit from each other experience.

He said University of Agriculture Faisalabad was very famous university and centre of excellence in agriculture. He said the memorandum of understanding would be inked between the UAF and his institutions so that they could get benefited from UAF in curriculum development, research and other areas.

He invited the UAF experts to visit his state and work together with their agricultural institutions to support agricultural sector. He said the collaboration could be worked out to produce the Basmati rice in his state. UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said UAF and Nigerian institutions work in the field of the agriculture would result in bringing the tangible results. He said “agriculture is the backbone of our economy, contributing 21 percent to the Gross Domestic Product of the country.”

He said UAF was enjoying good relations with the educational and agricultural institutions worldwide. He said the county was producing the surplus production in the all major crops.