Islamabad: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have agreed to enhance cooperation in agriculture and food security and make efforts to increase Pakistan's agricultural and food exports to Saudi Arabia to $3 billion within the next two years.
The understanding was reached during the visit of a high-level Saudi delegation led by Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Engineer Abdulrahman A. Al-Fadley to Islamabad from August 26 to 28.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif also met the Saudi delegation and discussed potential areas of cooperation. The Pakistani delegation was led by Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain.
According to a joint statement issued after the visit, both sides identified rice, red meat, fruits and fruit concentrates, green fodder and water-efficient agricultural technologies as priority areas for cooperation with the Saudi private sector.
The two countries reaffirmed their historic and brotherly ties and highlighted strong synergies between Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 food security priorities and Pakistan's agricultural and food export potential.
Rice exports The two sides noted that Pakistan supplied approximately 169,000 tonnes of rice worth around $163 million to Saudi Arabia in 2025. The Saudi side expressed interest in further increasing bilateral rice trade in the coming years. Red meat exports
Pakistan currently supplies around 30,000 tonnes of red meat annually, valued at approximately $167 million. The Saudi delegation expressed interest in gradually doubling imports of red meat from Pakistan. Both sides also identified significant potential for increasing Pakistan's share in the Saudi fruit and fruit-concentrate market and agreed to encourage business-to-business linkages, matchmaking and mutual recognition of quality certification.
Saudi Arabia also described green fodder as a promising area for expanded trade and long-term supply partnerships. The two sides welcomed the successful completion of the first phase of a water-efficient irrigation programme in Bhakkar, Punjab, and expressed interest in a proposed second phase aimed at supporting small farmers.
The Saudi delegation also encouraged Pakistan to join the International Dats Council, a proposal welcomed by the Pakistani side.
Both countries reviewed investment proposals from Pakistan's private sector in livestock, agri-food processing and the rice value chain and agreed to maintain coordination to advance these opportunities.
The Saudi side also invited Pakistan to participate in the 43rd Saudi Agriculture Exhibition, scheduled to be held in Riyadh from October 19 to 22, 2026.