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Islamabad to establish modern dairy farm in Sri Lankan president’s district
COLOMBO: The High Commissioner of Pakistan in Sri Lanka Dr Shahid Ahmad Hashmat called on Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena at the President’s Secretariat recently.
Sirisena expressed his gratitude towards the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and the government of Pakistan for timely provision of fertilizer to Sri Lanka to curb the shortage, as had been requested by the president, the government news portal reported.
It is pertinent to mention here that in the wake of a sudden shortage of fertilizer in Sri Lanka, president Sirisena last week announced that Pakistan had agreed to send 41,000 metric tons of fertilizer immediately. Following concerns raised about the scarcity of fertilizer in Sri Lanka, the president had contacted PM Abbasi requesting assistance to find an immediate solution to the crisis.
Islamabad informed him that it would take steps to export more than 75,000 metric tons of fertilizer to Colombo in the future.
During the meeting, the high commissioner apprised the president about various ongoing development projects in Sri Lanka initiated by the government of Pakistan through its high commission, including financial assistance under USD 200 million credit line.
He also informed the president that a high-level team of experts would soon visit Sri Lanka to carry out feasibility report regarding the establishment of a dairy farm at Polonnaruwa.
Pakistan is to establish a modern dairy farm in Polonnaruwa district in North Central Sri Lanka, which is the home district of Maithripala Sirisena.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Pakistan is among three countries in the Asia and Pacific region which are the world’s top dairy producers.
The Pakistan Economic Survey for 2016-17 reveals that milk production in Pakistan was on the increase, and during 2017 the gross production of milk was estimated to be 56,080,000 tonnes.
