ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Bulgaria signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on scientific and technical cooperation in the field of agricultural research, a statement said.

The MoU was signed during a visit of Ambassador of Pakistan to Bulgaria Mariam Aftab to the Agricultural Academy of Bulgaria (AAB), where she met its president Prof Eng Martin Banev, who was accompanied by Prof Elena Todorovska, chief scientific secretary and Ivan Nenov, director of international cooperation of AAB.

The purpose of the visit was to sign the memorandum of understanding between Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and Agricultural Academy of Bulgaria (AAB), as well as to discuss possible avenues of collaboration and cooperation between the two countries in the field of agricultural research and technology.

Welcoming the ambassador to the academy, Prof Banev expressed pleasure that the two countries were finally signing this MoU after prolonged negotiations.

The signing of the MoU would be the first step towards a more meaning and fruitful collaboration between the two countries in this all-important field of agricultural technologies and research, he said.

Ambassador Mariam Aftab thanked the president of AAB for the warm reception and highlighted that Pakistan and Bulgaria rely heavily on their agricultural sectors and; therefore, the two countries had a lot to learn from each other’s experiences and expertise in the agricultural-related technologies.

She said PARC is interested in learning from Bulgarian experiences in the field of germplasm for cereals, fruits and vegetable crops, value-addition and reducing post-harvest losses in fruits and vegetables, processing and value addition of milk and meat products, veterinary vaccines production technology and control of infectious diseases in animals, exploitation of alternative energy resources for agriculture and collaboration in fabricating farm machinery.

The ambassador also expressed her appreciation that the two institutions were engaging actively and assured her full support for any proposals, which they finalise in future under the MoU.

She also informed the president that she would meet the new ministers of agriculture and education from Bulgaria soon to discuss the possibility of exchange of students/professors, as well as award of scholarships to students from the two countries on a reciprocal basis.

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