Riyadh: Qatar took part in 38th General Assembly of the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD), held Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, yesterday. The Qatari delegation was headed by Minister of Municipality H E Abdullah bin Hamad bin Abdullah Al Attiyah.

In his speech at the meeting, the Minister affirmed that Qatar has made wide strides in areas of food security and agricultural, animal and fish production, thanks to its continuous support and attention to this vital sector.

He said over the past five years, this support, in addition to the efforts of agricultural producers, contributed to achieving a significant increase in production, leading to a 98 percent increase in fresh vegetable production and a 100 percent self-sufficiency in fresh milk, dairy products, and fresh poultry.

Al Attiyah noted the great attention that Qatar attaches to the fish production sector, and its endeavour to sustain it through development programmes, most notably the “Aquatic Research Center”.

He stressed that the state will continue its efforts to enhance joint work and provide all forms of support and assistance to various agricultural projects, which are considered an important tool in maintaining this production and increasing it in accordance with food security plans and strategies, and in adherence to the directives by Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the objectives of the national development strategy, and the directions of the Qatar National Vision 2030.

The Minister praised Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the 38th General Assembly of the organisation, appreciating the important role played by AOAD in the field of promoting joint Arab action and tackling the challenges resulting from the profound transformations witnessed by the agriculture and food security sector at the global level.

He explained that these challenges were the result of developments over the past years that led to disruption of production and global food supply chains, which calls for more joint work to maintain the gains of the organisation member states over the past years, and to maintain the cohesion of their food security system, calling at the same time to enhance joint cooperation and exchange of experiences between countries, which contributes to achieving food security and sustainable development for Arab nations.

The meeting discussed the decisions of the Ministerial Committee formed for Arab food security for member states, based on the consultative meeting between the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States and the Arab Ministers of Agriculture, which was held at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in September.

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