Indonesian Ambassador Iwan S. Amri has said that Pakistan and Indonesia will further strengthen their ties in trade, research and agriculture sector.

He was talking as chief guest at the inaugural session of International Conference titled “Palm Oil: Health, Nutrition and Development” arranged by National Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFSAT), Faculty of Food, Nutrition and Home Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF). UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Zafar Iqbal Randhawa , Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Shabbir Hussain Chawla, Madinah Group of Industry Director Mian Haider Amin, Dean Faculty of Food Sciences Dr Masood Sadqi Butt, NIFSAT DG Dr Tahir Zahoor, Dr Binish Sarwar and other notable also spoke The Ambassador said that palm oil production is important to economy of Indonesia as the country is biggest exporter worth 22 billion US dollars, whereas Pakistan share in palm oil import is 10 percent. He said that people in South Asia were using Basmati ghee that was made of the animal fats. It is not only the matter of health but also habit and culture. He said that Indonesian Bogor Agricultural University, Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry , and University of Agriculture Faisalabad will enhance trade and research ties to boost the academic and industrial linkages. He said both countries had the similarities in the culture and way of living. He also congratulated for successful election in Pakistan. Talking about women, he said that women empowerment was essential for the development of the any country as it plays a significant role in the uplift of any society. He said that Pakistan has been producing one of the best mangoes and rice and his county is importing it. He added that Pakistan is fourth beigest ethanol exporter of the world and Indonesia is getting benefit from the produce. UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Zafar Iqbal Randhawa said that Office of Pro-Vice Chancellor comprising six luxurious rooms will be provided to the industry to set up their offices for academia-industry linkages so that they could devise demand driven mechanism for research and help generate more employment for poverty alleviation. He said that strong academia-industry linkages are essential to fight the challenges of modern era and to alleviate poverty from the country. He said that the academia- industry strengthened ties would help raise income of people, way of living and to meet the challenges of the modern era. He urged the researches to work on the real issues of the common man. He added that Indonesia and Pakistan strengthened relations would help address the common challenges and to get benefit form each other experiences. Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Shabbir Hussain Chawala said that they were enjoying the excellent ties with UAF . He said that Faisalabad was the second most revenue generating city. He added that palm oil was most famous vegetable oil in the world. He added that there is a need to dispel the misconception about palm oil that it is not good for health. He viewed that we have to ensure proper procedures and measures for the production of the palm oil for the health of the people. He lauded the steps being taken on the part of the UAF for the industry academia linkages and to produce tangible researches meant for addressing the problems of the society. Dean Faculty of Food, Nutrition and Home Sciences Dr Masood Sadiq Butt said that UAF collaboration with Indonesia and our homeland particularly food industry would pave the way for further the prosperity. He added that his faculty is coming up with the out of the box solutions to the problems of the industry and common man. DG NIFSAT Dr Tahir Zahoor said that conference will bring the industry and academia closer