Pakistan Seeks Turkiye’s Help for Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine Production
Pakistan has sought Turkiye's technical cooperation on FMD control and vaccine production. A Turkish expert delegation will visit soon, and PM Shehbaz Sharif backs indigenous vaccine capacity.
Highlights
- Pakistan has sought Turkiye’s technical cooperation on foot-and-mouth disease control and vaccine production
- A Turkish expert-level delegation will visit Pakistan soon
- PM Shehbaz Sharif decided to seek Turkish support for indigenous FMD vaccine capacity
- Cooperation is linked to disease-free zones and stronger access to international meat markets
Pakistan has sought technical cooperation from Turkiye for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) control and vaccine production, and a Turkish expert-level delegation will visit Pakistan soon to explore avenues for collaboration, according to Dawn, 5 Nov 2026.
Why FMD vaccine capacity matters
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to seek Turkiye’s technical support for developing Pakistan’s indigenous FMD vaccine production capacity, Dawn, 5 Nov 2026 reported. The proposed cooperation was also linked to Pakistan’s ambition to establish disease-free zones and strengthen access to international meat markets, the report said. For a country where livestock is a core rural income source, controlling FMD is not only an animal-health issue; it decides whether meat and livestock products can compete in higher-value export markets.
That export logic connects with the wider trade debate in Pakistan, where producers are watching costs closely — the same pressure visible when Pakistan’s private sector turned net borrower, taking Rs87 billion from banks, as businesses leaned on credit to keep operations moving.
The Islamabad meeting
Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain and Ambassador of Turkiye Dr Irfan Neziroglu in a meeting on Wednesday discussed concrete measures for strengthening bilateral cooperation in agriculture, livestock, vaccine production, human resource development and value-added food exports, according to Dawn, 5 Nov 2026. Since livestock development and domestic production of FMD vaccine emerged as major priorities, the envoy expressed Turkiye’s willingness to extend technical cooperation to Pakistan, the report said.
The two sides also discussed the findings of recent exchanges between livestock experts of both countries, Dawn reported. Both sides recognised that improved animal health standards and domestic vaccine production would contribute to expanding Pakistan’s livestock and meat export potential. They also agreed to translate the longstanding strategic partnership between Pakistan and Turkiye into practical initiatives through institutional linkages, technical collaboration and direct engagement between relevant ministries, universities and experts, according to the same report.
Training and next steps
A key focus of the meeting was capacity building and technical training, Dawn, 5 Nov 2026 reported. Pakistan informed the Turkish side of its plan to send an initial group of around 30 participants to Turkiye under the proposed training programme for 100 trainees, according to Dawn.
If the expert delegation’s visit leads to local vaccine production, Pakistan would reduce its dependence on imported doses and respond faster to outbreaks — a practical step whose results will be measured in healthier herds and, eventually, in export orders. The effort sits alongside other national capability projects, including Pakistan’s successful test of Fa’az, its first indigenously developed air-to-air missile, both reflecting a push to build sensitive technology at home rather than rely entirely on imports.
