WASHINGTON: The US state of California and Punjab have signed a sister-province agreement to promote trade, educational and cultural relations.

Anthony Rendon, speaker of the California State Assembly, and Wasif Khurshid, chairman of the Punjab Planning and Development Board, signed the agreement in Sacramento, California on Monday. Islamabad’s Ambassador to the US Masood Khan and former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani also witnessed the signing ceremony.

Lt Governor Eleni Kounalakis, members of the California State Assembly, US officials and representatives of the Pakistani-American community also attended the event.

The sister-province agreement would “promote mutual trade and commerce and increase the potential for educational, environmental and cultural relations between Punjab and California”, said an official statement issued later.

“This would also provide an opportunity to exploit the untapped economic potential and promote people-to-people contacts,” it added.

The statement also noted that California was among the top four economies of the world, while Punjab had a vibrant middle class and their cooperation would “create the required synergies for nurturing a mutually beneficial relationship and a win-win partnership”.

The Pakistani delegation also visited the University of California Davis, which is the leading agricultural and veterinary research in the world, and met Chancellor Gary May. Both sides discussed ways to strengthen collaboration between UC Davis and University of Agriculture Faisalabad, and agreed to further build up the partnership.

The two sides also discussed the ways and means to promote collaboration in export of mangoes and dates from Pakistan and agri-tech for kinnows from the US.

Kinnow is a hybrid of two citrus cultivars – King and Willow Leaf – and was first developed by Howard B Frost at the University of California Citrus Experiment Station. The variety was released for commercial cultivation in 1935.

The Pakistani delegation also discussed the possibilities of further cooperation with UC Davis in hybrid wheat, cotton and rice seeds. Cooperation in climate smart agriculture was also discussed during the meeting.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2023