The ninth Ministerial Conference of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Food Security and Agricultural Development, hosted by the State of Qatar, was launched today, Monday (October 2, 2023), in the Qatari capital, Doha, under the slogan: ‘Towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for the year 2030 in the OIC member states.’ Islamic Cooperation.
The meeting was chaired by Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Subaie, Minister of Municipality of the State of Qatar, and in the presence of ministers responsible for agriculture and food security in the member states of the organization.
Al-Subaie said that the conference is a very important opportunity for consultation and exchange of ideas, which contributes to strengthening the agricultural and food security system in the countries of the organization.
He added: We affirm our commitment to striving towards achieving sustainable development goals in general and focusing efforts in particular on eliminating hunger and promoting sustainabl
e agriculture, while ensuring fruitful cooperation with all member states, all international organizations and bodies, and relevant parties.
For his part, the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Hussein Ibrahim Taha, confirmed that work is underway to develop a strategic plan that aims to ensure food security in the member states of the Organization, and aims to establish cooperation and synergy among existing national strategies, as well as mobilizing resources and capabilities at the level of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Islamic law in order to achieve sustainable agricultural and rural development and enhance food security.
The Secretary-General pointed out that 23 member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation are still among the 44 low-income countries in the world that suffer from food deficit. These are countries, most of which are located in sub-Saharan Africa and in the arid regions of West Asia and Northeast Africa.
He stressed that achieving sustai
nable development goals, including the eradication of poverty and hunger, is impossible to achieve without giving serious and direct attention to the development of agricultural and food systems, especially in the least developed countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The Secretary-General pointed out that the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have many opportunities for mutual cooperation in this vital sector, as the member states as a group possess sufficient arable land, resources and technologies necessary to provide enough to support themselves, calling for the establishment of partnership arrangements between the countries that have Arable land, natural agricultural wealth, and those that have the funds and technologies, in order to address the chronic lack of investment in agriculture and food security, as well as build national capacities in this vital sector.
The conference witnessed the adoption of the State of Qatar as Chairman of the Ninth Ministerial Confer
ence of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Food Security and Agricultural Development, with Palestine, Iran and Senegal as representatives and Turkey as rapporteur.
On the sidelines of the conference, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Republic of Yemen, the Republic of Gabon and the Republic of Iraq signed the statute of the Islamic Organization for Food Security, one of the specialized bodies affiliated with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Source: International Islamic News Agency