RIYADH: The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has lauded the Kingdom for its its climate change commitments such as the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative, environment protection and energy transition programs.
In an exclusive interview with Arab News, the FAO’s Assistant Director General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa Abdulhakim Elwaer said that this was the view of FAO’s Director-General QU Dongyu.
Elwaer said the FAO’s director general, who had recently visited the Kingdom, had signed an agreement with the International Date Council headquartered in Riyadh to boost the industry in preparation for the International Year of the Date Palm 2027.
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu met KSRelief Supervisor General Abdullah Al Rabeeah at the Center in Riyadh. (Photo/FAO)
“The partnership between the FAO and Saudi Arabia is strong, strategic and growing since the Kingdom joined the FAO in 1948,” said Elwaer.
Elwaer said Dongyu had held talks with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Al-Fadley to discuss the FAO’s technical support for the Kingdom on food security, agriculture-led rural transformation and climate change.
The partnership between the FAO and Saudi Arabia is strong, strategic and growing since the Kingdom joined the FAO in 1948.
Abdulhakim Elwaer, FAO’s assistant director general and regional representative for the Near East and North Africa
“In November 2020, the G20 launched The Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation and Enhancing Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats. Under this global initiative, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched two initiatives, the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative. The FAO has been closely engaged in the two initiatives,” said Elwaer.
“The pressures on land and water resources are pushing the productive capacity of agricultural, forestry and pastoral ecosystems to the limit, and significantly contributing to the increasing trend of acute food insecurity. The Middle East region is particularly constrained in terms of its agricultural resources.
Abdulhakim Elwaer, FAO Assistant Director-General & Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa and Abdul Rahman Al Habib, Executive Director of the International Dates Council signing MoU under the patronage of Abdulrahman Al-Fadley, Minister for Environment, Water and Agriculture in Riyadh. (Photo/FAO)
“The region is most scarce globally in terms of agricultural land (an average of 1.07 hectares per capita) and water availability (9 percent of the global average) and is the only region in the world where harvest area shrinkage is expected by 2050,” he said.
“The MGI presents an excellent opportunity to address land degradation through a holistic, landscape and cross-sectoral approach, which is crucial for food security and resilient livelihoods,” said Elwaer.
He said the FAO has vast technical expertise and strategic partnerships with key stakeholders in these areas, to provide the Kingdom with the support it needs. This is part of the UN’s 2021–2030 Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
Elwaer said Dongyu also had a meeting with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center’s Supervisor General Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah. The FAO and KSrelief are close partners, having signed a five-year collaboration agreement in 2021 to boost aid efforts globally, including in countries such as Yemen and Somalia, he added.
The two officials had also discussed the FAO’s contribution to some of KSrelief’s strategic initiatives including the Global Humanitarian Hub on the Red Sea.
