Argentina is keen to further expand ties with Pakistan in an effort to further strengthen relations between the two countries. This was stated by the Ambassador of Argentina, Rondolfo Martin-Saravia, during a visit of the Business Recorder Islamabad office on Thursday.
Representing Argentina in Pakistan since 2004 the Ambassador recalled: "Argentina was in the forefront of easing tensions between India and Pakistan in 1971 and the Pakistan government, in acknowledgement, named a park in Islamabad after my country." Co-operation in the economic arena between Pakistan and Argentina is the Ambassador's primary objective.
He noted the start of a joint venture in a biotechnological pharmaceutical plant between an Argentina company, BAGO S A, and Ferozesons Laboratories of Pakistan. The plant, inaugurated in July this year, will begin manufacturing and marketing cancer and hepatitis B and C medications that are exorbitantly expensive today. The plant will provide affordable and good quality medicines, he added.
Pakistan could benefit from the gains made by Argentina in its livestock sector, the Ambassador stated. Argentina could assist Pakistan's livestock sector to improve its meat output through introduction of more resilient hybrid breed as well as through controlling foot and mouth disease, not harmful for humans if ingested, but negatively affects the reproductive capacity of the animal. Latest slaughtering equipment, if imported from Argentina, would also expand Pakistan's capacity to export to Middle Eastern countries.
Argentina is interested in collaborating with Pakistan in the dairy sector. Pakistan has one of the largest milk outputs in the world, the Ambassador stated, but the problem is that more than 50 percent of the milk gets spoiled due to lack of a good cold chain system. Argentina can provide cooling tanks to be installed at production units around the country so that milk is immediately preserved. Later the milk can be collected by a cooling truck and sent to the industrial circuit. The Ambassador added that Pakistan should explore channelling surplus milk to producing powdered milk, much in demand by UN agencies in their humanitarian efforts, and mozzarella cheese which could be exported to Europe.
The Ambassador said that Argentina can supply agricultural equipment as per requirement of Pakistan, adding that 'we are closely collaborating with Parc (Pakistan Agricultural Research Council) in this regard'. Argentina supported the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) by providing purification tablets. The Ambassador revealed that his embassy plans to hold a painting exhibition of Argentina's artists in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. A photo exhibition would also be held displaying pictures of various sites of Pakistan taken by a photographer from Argentina during his extensive travels in Pakistan.
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