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ISLAMABAD: A high-level Pakistani government delegation on Thursday concluded an official visit to the United Arab Emirates as part of a program aimed at sharing knowledge and best practices in governance and public sector modernization.

The delegation, led by Bilal Azhar Kayani, Pakistan’s Minister of State for Finance and Railways and Head of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, participated in the UAE Government’s Experience Exchange Programme (EEP). The initiative is aligned with Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif’s wider push for institutional reform and better service delivery across the country’s public sector.

During the visit, the eight-member team held detailed sessions with senior UAE officials to learn about digital governance, tax system modernization, leadership development, and innovation in public service.

“Kayani expressed gratitude to the UAE Government for facilitating valuable knowledge-sharing engagements in areas such as digital governance, public service delivery, and tax system modernization,” the Pakistan Embassy in Abu Dhabi said in an official statement.

On the final day of the program, the Pakistani delegation met senior Emirati officials including Mohammad Al Sharhan, Managing Director of the World Governments Summit, Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Director General of the UAE Federal Tax Authority, Saeed Al Eter, Chair of the UAE Government Media Office, Dr. Waleed Al Ali, Secretary General of The Digital School and Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation.

The sessions focused on the UAE’s approach to future foresight, media communication, and performance management in governance.

Kayani “underscored Pakistan’s commitment to adopting global best practices in digital governance, efficiency, and public sector competitiveness to enhance service delivery and institutional performance,” the statement added.

The visit builds on a Memorandum of Understanding signed on June 16, 2025, between the UAE Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and Pakistan’s Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives. The agreement aims to strengthen cooperation in governance excellence and institutional capacity-building.

The UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and an important source of foreign remittances, with more than 1.7 million Pakistani expatriates living and working in the Emirates. According to Pakistan’s Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, the UAE is the second-largest destination for Pakistani migrant workers after ��������.

In recent years, bilateral trade has grown steadily, reaching nearly $10 billion in 2024, driven by energy imports, textiles, and other goods. Pakistani workers in the UAE sent home over $5 billion in remittances last fiscal year, providing vital foreign exchange for the country’s economy.

The two countries maintain close ties in investment, defense cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges, underpinned by shared commitments to economic development and regional stability.

ISLAMABAD: Senior officials of Pakistan and Egypt discussed enhancing bilateral cooperation in agriculture, food security and farming on Thursday, Pakistan’s food security ministry said, with Islamabad expressing interest in learning from Cairo’s successful experiences in these areas. 

Agriculture constitutes the largest sector of Pakistan’s economy, contributing about 24 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). As per official figures, it accounts for half of Pakistan’s employed labor force and is the largest source of foreign exchange earnings for the South Asian country.

Pakistan’s National Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain met Dr. Ihab Mohamed Abdelhamid Hassan, Egypt’s ambassador to Pakistan, at the ministry in Islamabad on Thursday. 

“The meeting focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation in agriculture, food security, and climate-resilient farming systems,” the food security ministry’s statement said. 

Hussain praised Egypt’s “remarkable progress” in the agricultural sector, especially in water resource management, arid-zone farming and the adoption of modern technologies, the statement said.

He emphasized Pakistan’s keen interest in learning from Egypt’s successful experiences, calling for enhanced collaboration in seed development, agricultural science, drip irrigation, capacity building and climate-smart technologies.

“One of the major outcomes of the meeting was the mutual agreement to formalize cooperation between Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and Egypt’s Agricultural Research Center (ARC), as well as the Egyptian International Center for Agriculture (EICA),” the statement said. 

It added that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two research institutions is expected to be signed “soon” to strengthen research exchange, training and innovation in agriculture.

Hussain also highlighted Pakistan’s challenges in post-harvest losses, especially in wheat storage. He appreciated Egypt’s successful efforts in improving wheat storage through better silo systems and logistics. 

Both countries agreed to share experiences and technical solutions to reduce such losses in Pakistan, which currently range between 20–30 percent, the food security ministry said.