Pakistan Reaffirms its Strong Partnership with the Common Fund for Commodities
The Hague, 14 October 2025 – Ambassador Sheikh Mohammed Belal, Managing Director of the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), paid a courtesy visit to H.E. Syed Haider Shah, Governor of the CFC for Pakistan and Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Ambassador Shah was joined by Mr. Jamal Nasir, Deputy Head of Mission, and Mr. Muhammad Shafiq Haider, Counsellor for Trade and Investment.
The meeting offered a timely opportunity to review the longstanding partnership between Pakistan and the CFC and to explore new pathways for collaboration in advancing inclusive and sustainable commodity development.
Ambassador Belal provided an update on the CFC’s expanding portfolio of activities and the growing global demand for its innovative financing solutions. He highlighted the Fund’s tangible achievements in empowering smallholders, strengthening value chains, and catalysing rural transformation across commodity-dependent developing countries.
Expressing deep appreciation for Pakistan’s active engagement and continued support, Ambassador Belal commended the country’s leadership in championing inclusive growth and sustainable agricultural transformation. He emphasized that Pakistan’s vibrant agro-industrial sector offers significant potential for collaboration—particularly in scaling value addition, improving market access, and fostering innovation-driven growth through impact investment and technology-based solutions.
A focal point of the discussions was the Humanizing Value Chains (HVC) initiative—CFC’s flagship platform for promoting fairness, traceability, and shared prosperity along global commodity chains. Ambassador Belal noted that the initiative seeks to restore dignity and equity for producers while promoting transparency and responsible consumer engagement. He welcomed the growing international support for HVC, including the recent endorsement by Peru, and encouraged Pakistan to explore synergies with its own agricultural modernization agenda.
Ambassador Shah warmly welcomed Ambassador Belal’s visit and reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to the objectives of the CFC. He commended the Fund’s efforts in promoting sustainable and inclusive growth and underlined Pakistan’s determination to strengthen its agricultural and industrial value chains. The Ambassador emphasized Pakistan’s focus on attracting innovation and investment that connect farmers and entrepreneurs to global markets.
In this context, Ambassador Shah extended an invitation to the CFC to participate in FoodAg 2025, Pakistan’s flagship international agro-food exhibition, organized by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP). Scheduled to take place from 25–27 November 2025 in Karachi, FoodAg will convene over 500 exhibitors and 850 international buyers from more than 80 countries under the theme “Harvesting Innovation, Cultivating Sustainability.” The event will serve as a premier platform to showcase Pakistan’s agricultural strength and to foster partnerships in trade, investment, and technology. Ambassador Shah noted that CFC’s work aligns closely with Pakistan’s vision of becoming a key contributor to global food security and sustainable value chains.
The two sides also explored innovative financial instruments, including potential sovereign-backed mechanisms, to unlock greater investment flows and scale up sustainable agricultural enterprises.
In closing, both Ambassadors reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening Pakistan–CFC cooperation, with a renewed focus on empowering smallholders and advancing fairer, more resilient global value chains.
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[CFC Media Relations Team]
[Email: managing.director@common-fund.org]
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