LAHORE: Commercial Ambassador Pakistan China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) Adeel Munawar has emphasized that strengthening educational cooperation between Pakistan and China is vital for developing a skilled workforce, accelerating agricultural modernization, and enhancing Pakistan’s competitiveness in the global knowledge economy.
In a statement on Tuesday, he said investment in education, vocational training, research, and innovation is the cornerstone of sustainable economic development. He added that Pakistan enjoys a significant demographic advantage, with more than 60 percent of its population below the age of 30, making investment in youth skills and higher education one of the country’s greatest opportunities.
Adeel stated agriculture remains the backbone of Pakistan’s economy, contributing around 22 percent to the national GDP while employing approximately one-third (33 percent) of the country’s labour force. He stressed that improving agricultural productivity through technology transfer, modern research, and scientific education is essential to ensuring food security, increasing exports, and improving rural livelihoods.
He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed MoUs, covered a wide range of sectors. In agriculture, both sides signed a protocol on inspection, quarantine and sanitary requirements for dried fruits and nuts, a protocol of phytosanitary requirements for maize, MoU on strengthening development cooperation in the agriculture sector, and a letter of exchange on animal vaccines.
Adeel highlighted that Pakistan and China have already taken practical steps to deepen educational cooperation. Under the Prime Minister’s capacity-building initiative, 1,000 young Pakistani agricultural graduates are receiving advanced training at leading Chinese universities and institutions in areas including biotechnology, mechanization, climate-smart agriculture, artificial intelligence, irrigation systems, and seed development. He said these initiatives will help introduce modern farming techniques and advanced research practices across Pakistan’s agricultural sector.
He further observed that stronger academic partnerships will facilitate joint research, faculty exchange, technology commercialization, digital learning, and innovation-driven entrepreneurship. Aligning educational curricula with industry requirements will enable graduates to acquire market-relevant skills, reduce the gap between education and employment, and support Pakistan’s industrial and export-oriented growth. He concluded that educational collaboration between Pakistan and China is not merely an academic partnership but a strategic investment in human capital.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026