ISLAMABAD, Pakistan 

A bee research laboratory set up by Turkey’s state-run aid agency was opened in Pakistan’s capital on Wednesday.

The Advanced Queen Bee Research Laboratory, established in collaboration with the Honeybee Research Institute (HBRI) in Islamabad, was inaugurated by Turkish Ambassador Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul and his wife.

Muhammad Azeem Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, and Gokhan Umut, Islamabad coordinator for the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), were also present on the occasion.

Fifty Turkish-style bee hives were also donated for research, according to a TIKA statement.

The main objective of the project is to help boost honey production and bee colony productivity in Pakistan, the statement said.

Quality control will be ensured by using the latest technology in the sophisticated laboratory, it added.

“The lab will help improve quality standards for higher honey production in Pakistan,” said Umut, TIKA Islamabad coordinator./aa