ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) President Alvaro Lario on Tuesday signed a ‘Host Country Agreement’ between Pakistan and IFAD.
Under the agreement, the country office of IFAD will be set up in Islamabad.
“The agreement will formalise the already existing substantial cooperation between Pakistan and IFAD. IFAD’s current portfolio across Pakistan totals $673 million, which is the second highest IFAD undertaking in the world,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement.
There are five ongoing IFAD projects in Pakistan in Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and South Punjab, with a sixth project forthcoming in Sindh.
The IFAD projects are related to the areas of nutrition, women empowerment, climate change and youth engagement.
The IFAD is an important partner for Pakistan in its efforts towards ensuring national food security, climate resilience, and rural poverty reduction, it added.
