Pakistan, China sign MOUs on Karachi seawater desalination project, agriculture and tea sectors

CHANGSHA, China: Pakistan and China on Monday signed three memoranda of understanding (MOUs), including a project to convert seawater into potable water for Karachi, as both countries expanded cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture and trade, officials said.

President Asif Ali Zardari attended the signing ceremony held in Changsha, capital of China’s Hunan province.

The agreements included cooperation on seawater desalination to improve water supply for Karachi, agricultural technology development, and collaboration in the tea sector.

Under the first agreement, Sindh’s local government department will work with China’s Luxian Environmental Technology Group on a desalination project aimed at increasing freshwater supply for Karachi, one of the world’s largest cities facing chronic water shortages.

Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon signed the deal on behalf of Pakistan alongside representatives of the Chinese firm.

A second agreement was signed between the Sindh local government department and Long Ping High-Tech Information Company to promote cooperation in agricultural technology. The pact was signed by Memon and Chinese company chairman Chen Zhixin.

A third MoU focuses on the tea industry and was signed between Miske and Femtee Trading Company, Hunan Tea Group, and Jialong International Technology (Hainan), aimed at strengthening industrial cooperation and expanding trade and economic linkages.

Pakistan’s former Senate deputy chairman Saleem Mandviwalla signed the agreement on behalf of the Pakistani side.

Officials said the agreements are aimed at boosting industrial cooperation across sectors, promoting tea industry development, and strengthening broader economic, trade and people-to-people ties between the two countries.