Pakistan, Italy boost olive collaboration with new MoUs on the horizon

December 05, 2025 (MLN):  Pakistan and Italy have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation in agriculture and food security, reviewing progress on olive sector projects and discussing multiple upcoming MoUs aimed at enhancing collaboration in farming, skills development, and modern agricultural technologies.

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain met Italian Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry Francesco Lollobrigida in Rome during his visit to represent Pakistan at the FAO Council, according to a press release issued.

Both sides examined ongoing initiatives including the AICS-funded Olive Culture Scale-Up Project, the Olive Culture Project (2022–2024), and the commercial-scale olive cultivation programme (Phase II, 2021–2026).

The Pakistani minister thanked Italy for its continued technical assistance and sought deeper cooperation in agricultural mechanization, research, and advanced olive oil extraction.

The meeting also highlighted the importance of the Labor MoU signed in May 2025 and progress on a forthcoming MoU on Professional Capacity Building and Extension in Agriculture. Italy also noted that the Italian Trade Agency is supporting a €20 million horticulture project to create greater employment opportunities for Pakistani workers.

Minister Lollobrigida briefed his counterpart on Italy’s quality-control systems across the olive oil production chain and proposed establishing a joint technical group to advance research, mechanization, and extraction technologies. He added that Italy would soon offer an additional MoU focused specifically on olive sector cooperation.

Rana Tanveer Hussain informed the Italian side about Pakistan’s upcoming Olive Value Chain Policy and highlighted the international recognition of “Loralai Olive,” which won a silver medal at the New York International Olive Oil Competition 2025.

He invited Minister Lollobrigida to visit Pakistan early next year for the signing of the MoUs and expressed readiness to host both the 6th Joint Economic Commission and the 2nd Joint Working Group under the Labor Accord.

Both ministers concluded with a shared commitment to support Pakistan’s ambition of becoming a producer of high-quality olive oil for domestic and export markets, drawing on Italy’s experience and technological strengths.

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