The two-day Agri-Connections 2025 conference and expo with the ‘Investing in Agriculture for Growth’ theme will kick off on Wednesday at Karachi Expo Center. Mr Syed Qassim Naveed Qamar, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Sindh on Investment and Public-Private Partnerships, will inaugurate the Agri Connection & Expo 2025
The conference will have speakers from Turkey, Italy, Hungary, Peru, Uzbekistan, France, the United States of America, and Pakistan.
The speakers will highlight how global historic geopolitical changes, such as US and EU sanctions on Russia and anticipated US tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada, present opportunities for Pakistan regarding new commodity flows.
The expo and conference will be opened with a welcome address by Kazim Saeed, CEO of Pakistan Agricultural Coalition, and an opening address by Syed Qassim Naveed Qamar, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Sindh on Investment and Public-Private Partnerships.
The first session’s key address will be by Salma Butt, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Punjab on Commodities Management.
A session on ‘investing in agriculture for growth at scale’ will feature presentations by Matteo Iagatti, Senior Agroeconomist at FGM International; Ulughbek Rahimov, ESG Manager at Indorama Agro LLC; and John McGillicuddy, Agri-Commodity Consultant at IFC.
The session on ‘how Pakistan can develop a national agri-commodity market’ will feature presentations by John McGillicuddy, an Agri-Commodity Consultant at IFC; Agha Jan Akhtar, an ex-Secretary of Agriculture Sindh; Khurram Zafar, CEO of the Pakistan Mercantile Exchange; and Najam Shah, Chairman of the P&D Government of Sindh.
Charles Schneider, program manager at IFC Pakistan, and Asif Ali, chairman of the National Seed Development and Regulatory Authority, will present at the ‘Seeds for Growth and Resilience session.
A session on ‘The policy framework for agriculture’ will have presentations by Olivier Durand, Lead Agriculture Specialist at The World Bank, Dr Waseem Ajmal, Secretary, Federal Ministry for National Food Security & Research, and Suhail Ahmed Qureshi, Secretary of Agriculture Sindh.
The conference will include a special session with the Embassy of Hungary in Islamabad on ‘What Pakistan can learn from Hungary’. Balint Pongracz and Dr Altaf Ali Sayal, Vice Chancellor of the University of Agriculture, Tando Jam, will give presentations.
Other notable speakers of various sessions include Assad Zamin, Director General, Public-Private Partnership unit, Government of Sindh, Iftikhar Sahoo, Secretary Agriculture Punjab, Ms Gediz Kaya, CEO GAIA Climate (Turkey), MMsAyesha Moriani, Secretary Climate Change, Government of Pakistan, Dr Costantino Parma, International Project Coordinator, OliveCulture Pakistan, Sheryar Taj, Secretary Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP, MMsFlorence Rolle, Country Representative United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization, Mahmood Nawaz Shah, President, Sindh Abadgar Board, Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani, Minister for Agriculture, Government of Punjab, and Sardar M Bux Khan Mahar, Minister for Agriculture, Government of Sindh.
