ISLAMABAD: The United States has plans to give Pakistan access to its beef market and provide cotton seed technology, Ambassador Donald Blome said on Wednesday.

The US ambassador held a meeting with Minister for National Food Security and Research Tariq Bashir Cheema on Wednesday and said that apart from the flood assistance package, he looks forward to expanding agricultural trade between Pakistan and the US and building stronger relations.

The ambassador said the US was looking forward to introducing high-yield cotton seed technology in Pakistan.

The food security minister welcomed the initiative and said that in the recent floods cotton and date were the most affected crops in Sindh.

Mr Cheema while discussing the Pak-US relations in the agricultural sector, said that Pakistan was facing challenges due to recent floods and rains. “Our priority is to recover as much agricultural land as possible and help the displaced people to resettle back to their homes,” he said.

Ambassador Blome said that the US has a substantial commitment to address climate change through resilience and mitigation measures. “Pakistan is among the top 10 countries affected by climate change,” he said. He showed interest to work with Pakistan’s government to address future challenges.

The US envoy said that the people of the United State stand with Pakistan, and the US government was increasing the flood assistance package for Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2022