RIYADH, 6 June — The International Fund for Agriculture Development, a United Nations agency mandated to combat hunger and poverty on a global level, plans to launch several agricultural development projects in Islamic countries and a training program in Saudi Arabia.
This was announced by Lennart Bage, IFAD president, here yesterday. The multimillion dollar projects will be implemented in cooperation with Saudi aid agencies such as the Saudi Fund for Development and the Islamic Development Bank. The projects will range from crop and livestock rehabilitation to research and extension with special emphasis on marine resources, environment and date farming.
The visiting IFAD chief briefed senior officials including Deputy Minister of Finance and National Economy Dr. Hamad Al-Bazei and SFD’s Deputy President Abdul Aziz Al-Turki on his plans to strengthen IFAD operations, which aim at alleviating rural poverty and achieving food security on a sustainable basis in developing countries.
During his three-day stay in the Kingdom, Bage will be holding talks with Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, Minister of Agriculture Dr. Abdullah Muammar and IDB President Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ali. The talks will cover proposals to co-finance agricultural development projects in Islamic countries.
The UN agency, which fights hunger and poverty in the most disadvantaged regions of the world, has financed 578 projects in 114 countries allocating almost $7 billion in loans and grants so far. About 250 million rural people have benefited from the projects, said Bage.
IFAD makes the greater part of its resources available to low-income countries on very favorable terms. It gives up to 40 years for repayment of loans and a grace period of up to 10 years, said Bage, emphasizing the need for partnership with Islamic countries to implement projects on a regional level.
Asked about the purpose of his visit to the Kingdom, Bage said Saudi Arabia had a pioneering role in setting up IFAD, and Riyadh had been the second largest donor to the organization after the United States. “So it’s only natural that as a first priority I honor an invitation of the Saudi government to discuss our strategic partnership in reaching out to the poor.”
Bage said he had presented IFAD Rural Poverty Report 2001 to Saudi officials and sought the Kingdom’s cooperation to form a global alliance to combat poverty. He is also seeking support of other Gulf governments for financing anti-poverty projects.
IFAD is also reaching out to the private sector to enlist its expertise and resources in the fight against rural poverty.
