Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Office of the Director General, Agriculture Research (DGAR), KP, Peshawar. Ms. Florence Rolle, FAO Representative in Pakistan, Mr. Janat Gul, Special Secretary Agriculture, Government of KP and Dr. Muhammad Abdur Rauf, DG Agriculture Research, KP signed the MoU papers. Since both the entities share common goals of achieving the related SDGs and contributing to the country's economic development, the partnership will open new avenues of collaboration in the province.

The signing ceremony of MoU took place after the formal inauguration of the new FAO KP Office collocated in the premises of the DG Agriculture Research. The opening ceremony was jointly performed by Ms. Florence Rolle, FAO Country Representative, Mr. Janat Gul, Special Secretary Agriculture, GoKP, Dr. M. Adur Rauf, DG Agriculture Research, and Dr. Haji Muhammad, Director Field Operation, Agriculture Extension Department, KP.

FAO Representative thanked the Provincial Government and DG agriculture Research KP for welcoming and housing the FAO KP team and hoped that the extended cooperation between them will not only benefit staff of the two organisations through knowledge sharing, but will also boost support for the farming community of the province through introduction of innovations and technical support. Furthermore, FAO intends to cover a wide range of activities including capacity building, knowledge sharing, resource and expertise provision, and developing financing initiatives to advance their development agenda.