Cooperation between IOFS and Egypt for sustainable development

Cairo. On July 30 - August 3, 2021, the General Director of the Islamic Organization for Food Security Mr. Yerlan Baydaulet paid a visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt. The program of the visit was extremely eventful, including high-level negotiations with members of the government of Egypt and the heads of regional departments of international organizations, which took place in a confidential atmosphere.

At the negotiations with the Minister of Water Resources and Irregation of the Arab Republic of Egypt Mohammad Abdel-Ati, which took place on July 30, the parties considered the current state and prospects for the development of cooperation between Egypt and the IOFS. Special attention is paid to the issues of water resources management in agriculture. The parties agreed to appoint focal points to accelerate the exchange of information and develop an Action Plan to improve water management in agriculture in the member countries of the organization. Given the pandemic, an opinion was expressed to intensify cooperation within the OIC with all institutions related to water resources, such as the Global Drylands Allience, ICARDA, and ICBA. The Egyptian minister has invited the head of the IOFS to take part in Cairo Water Week, which will take place from 24-28 of October, 2021. The invitation was accepted.

On August 1, meetings were held with the Chairman of the ARE National Agency for Food Safety, Dr. Hussein Mansour, and the Deputy Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the FAO Regional Representative for the Middle East and North Africa, Dr. Abdul Hakim Al-Waer in Cairo office in a ZOOM conference format.

At a meeting with the Director General of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) Ali Abusaba, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the IOFS and an Action Plan for the near future.

On August 2, a meeting was held with the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Al-Sayed Al-Quseir, during which a number of pressing topics of cooperation were discussed with an emphasis on programs related to scientific research, technologies and innovations in the field of water resources management and the prevention of emergencies related to with the transboundary spread of plant pests and animal diseases. Particular attention is paid to the participation of the Egyptian side in the IV session of the General Assembly of the IOFS, scheduled for September 8-9, 2021 in Nur-Sultan.

On the same day, a meeting was held with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt for multilateral cooperation and international security Ihab Badawi, during which the Egyptian side's disposition for further comprehensive cooperation with the IOFS was confirmed.

The visit of the General Director Y. Baydaulet showed that the positions of Egypt and the IOFS on most issues are consonant. The local media gave a positive assessment of the results of the negotiations. The head of the IOFS gave a 20-minute interview to the President of the largest Middle East TV channel “Nile TV International”, Dr. Tagrid Hussein, who simultaneously holds the position of Deputy Chairperson of the ARE National Media Agency.