Pakistan and Italy have agreed to establish new Centres of Excellence (CoE) for the extraction and finishing of marble and other stones, and for agro-technology focused on olive oil mechanisation, as both sides reviewed bilateral trade, investment and development cooperation.
ISLAMABAD, Oct 13 (APP): Pakistan and Italy have agreed to establish new Centres of Excellence (CoE) for the extraction and finishing of marble and other stones, and for agro-technology focused on olive oil mechanisation, as both sides reviewed bilateral trade, investment and development cooperation.
Advisor to the Prime Minister Dr. Syed Tauqir Hussain Shah held separate meetings with Italian Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Maria Tripodi and Secretary General Foreign Affairs Ambassador Riccardo Guariglia at the Italian Foreign Ministry in Rome, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs news release said.
Dr. Tauqir is leading Pakistan’s delegation to the “Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum” hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) from October 12 to 14.
The talks covered trade, investment, economic, technological, scientific and development cooperation, as well as existing exchanges and mechanisms.
Dr. Tauqir lauded the “Olive Culture Scale-Up Project,” implemented by the CIHEAM Bari Institute across 20,000 hectares in four provinces of Pakistan. He also thanked Italy for its support in developing the “National Olive Value Chain Policy,” launched in August by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
He appreciated the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) for fully funding an 18-member delegation from Pakistan’s marble industry to the Marmomac Fair in Verona a fortnight ago. Directors General of the ITA and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) attended the talks, along with Ambassador Paolo Crudele, Deputy Director General for Asia, and Pierangelo Cammarota, Head of Office for Development Cooperation.
Noting the success of the Italy-Pakistan Centres of Excellence set up in 2020 in Faisalabad and Lahore for textiles and leather and footwear, both sides agreed to establish a similar centre for the extraction and finishing of Pakistan’s exportable reserves of granite, onyx, travertine and marble.
The ITA Director General, Ambassador Galanati, briefed the meeting on an upcoming visit to Pakistan by Mr. Marone, Director General of the Italian International Institute for Marble. He also outlined the €20 million soft-loan agreement for agriculture technical and vocational education and training (TVET), signed in June 2026. The accord provides for Centres of Excellence for citrus in Sargodha and dates in Turbat, along with technology transfer, training, processing, packaging and certification.
The two sides also expressed satisfaction at the recent finalisation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Agriculture with a focus on olive oil. They agreed to establish an Agro-Tech Centre of Excellence for olive oil mechanisation using Italian machinery.
Dr. Tauqir renewed invitations to Ms. Tripodi, Co-Chair of the Pakistan-Italy Joint Economic Commission (JEC), and to Ambassador Guariglia to visit Islamabad for the 6th JEC and the 7th Bilateral Political Consultations, respectively. Both accepted the invitations warmly. He also welcomed the upcoming visit of the Director General of the Italian International Institute for Marble and invited CIHEAM Bari to open a Home Country Office in Pakistan.
Recalling historic links, the advisor noted that Italy was the first nation to summit K2, on July 31, 1954, and that Italian engineers built the Tarbela Dam between 1968 and 1976. Italy is home to over 300,000 Pakistani residents and 3,500 Pakistani students, and is the top destination in the European Union for Pakistani exports and remittances.
Bilateral trade reached a record $1.6 billion in 2026. Pakistani exports to Italy stood at $1.16 billion, the eighth highest globally, up from $1.15 billion in 2025. Remittances rose to $1.55 billion, the fifth highest globally, from $1.3 billion a year earlier.
The Pakistan Embassy in Rome said the cordial meetings reflected the shared commitment of both countries to deepening and diversifying their ties.