H.E. Dr. Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahad, the UAE Minister of Environment and Water, met H.E. José Graziano da Silva, Director General of UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and his accompanying delegation to discuss mutual collaboration, gaining benefit from the organization's expertise in agriculture as well as animal, fish and ecological resources. H.E Eng. Saif Al Shara, Assistant Undersecretary for Agricultural and Livestock Affairs, UAE Ministry of Environment and Water also attended the meeting, which took place at the Emirate’s Palace in Abu Dhabi.
H.E. Dr. Bin Fahad welcomed the DG of FAO, commending the important role of the organization. He also highlighted the significance of its objectives, such as fighting poverty and hunger, improving sustainability of agriculture, animal and fish and other ecological and water resources, deploying research and training, and sharing information amongst member states.
The meeting discussed topics of mutual interest and growing collaboration, where H.E. de Silva assured that they are looking forward to provide all the support and capabilities to the UAE through its semi-regional office in GCC states and Yemen. The delegates talked about the execution of a number of projects with the Ministry, such as a regional conference on water security, a study on loss in foods, and workshops on coordinating policies of protecting fish resources. It also noted the progress in projects under construction, such as the food safety rate project, which is considered the first reference project in the world to measure the food safety rate in countries, and the Faosat project on agricultural statistics.
H.E. da Silva invited H.E. Bin Fahad to participate in its high-level round table discussion as a head speaker during the Global Summit on Blue Growth and Food Security, to be held from April 22 to 25, 2014 in the Netherlands.
At the end of the meeting, H.E. da Silva expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the Ministry for its efforts to support water and food security in the UAE and the region