On the visit of the Director General of the IOFS to Doha

From 11 to 15 July, a delegation of the Islamic Organization for Food Security, headed by Director General E. Baidaulet, paid a working visit to the State of Qatar, which has been a member of the IOFS since 2016.

During the visit, the delegates, accompanied by the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Qatar A. Issagaliyev, held negotiations with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ahmad Hassan Al-Hamadi, the Minister of Municipality and Environment Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Subaie and the Deputy Director General of the «Qatar Fund for Development» Ali Al-Dabbah, Chairman of the National Company «Hassad Food» Mohammad Badr Al-Sada, Executive Director of the Qatar Investment Promotion Agency Sheikh Ali AlWaleed Al-Thani, Executive Director of the Global Dryland Alliance Bader Omar Al-Dafa and Head of a leading airline of the world «Qatar Airways» Akbar Al-Baker.

In these meetings, the Director General of the IOFS emphasized the importance of the State of Qatar as a valued full member state and provided an overview of the IOFS establishment, structure, strategic programs and humanitarian profile. He spoke about the key programs of the organization, including the 10-year strategy, in which Qatar could play a strategic role, particularly in humanitarian programs.

The Qatari side expressed its readiness to actively cooperate within the framework of the IOFS programs and paid special attention to the development of national genebanks, national food sectors, in cooperation with state investment agencies, food security and the development of halal products.

Following the meetings, the parties agreed to create a joint working group, sign a Memorandum of Understanding and adopt a Joint Action Plan. The Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar expressed support for all discussed proposals and agreed to continue bilateral consultations. Also, it is necessary to note the decision of the «Global Dryland Alliance» and the IOFS to sign a memorandum of cooperation and develop an action plan to address food security problems in drylands.