In a first, Pakistan takes seat as permanent member of International Olive Council
Lisbon, Portugal, June 30: Pakistan on Tuesday took its seat for the first time as a permanent member of the UN International Olive Council (IOC) at a meeting held in Portugal’s capital Lisbon, said an official statement.
Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain led the Pakistani delegation to attend the meeting, a statement from Pakistan embassy Portugal said.
He was accompanied by Pakistan’s ambassador to Portugal Aisha Farooqui.
Following Pakistan’s membership of the International Olive Council in May 2026, Pakistan was invited to take its seat at the 123rd meeting of the Council, together with 27 other Olive oil producing nations.
Pakistan was warmly welcomed to the IOC by the Executive Director, the Chairman of IOC and by all the member countries.
Hussain, in his statement, thanked the IOC and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to take forward the objectives and goals of the IOC.
The minister briefed the council members on Pakistan’s growing Olive sector with over 7 million olive trees cultivated across 55,669 acres and olive clusters expanding across the country.
A complete “farm-to-fork” value chain has been established through 51 olive oil extraction units, modern processing facilities, nurseries, weather stations, and four IOC-aligned quality laboratories.
Pakistan has also achieved self-sufficiency in producing certified olive saplings domestically. These advances have earned international recognition, including a Silver Award at the New York International Olive Oil Competition (NYIOOC) last year.
Pakistan looks forward to playing its cooperative and positive role towards sustainable, and climate resilient development of the global olive oil and table olives sector, the statement concluded.
_______________________
