H.E. Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water, met with H.E. Prof. Adam Krzymowski, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the UAE, at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi, to discuss ways of strengthening and developing cooperation between the two countries in areas of mutual interest, including food security and sustainable development.
H.E. Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad welcomed the Polish Ambassador, underlining the UAE’s commitment to develop and promote relations between the two countries in all areas. During the meeting, they discussed ways to boost and support cooperation across all sectors, particularly facilitating the import of live animals, food products, fruits, vegetables and meat in line with set regulations in both countries. This fits the framework of the Ministry’s efforts to streamline the movement of food exports and trade of animals and plants under the Ministry’s strategic objective to ensure prevention of agricultural pests and epidemic livestock diseases.
The two sides further reviewed a memorandum of understanding, to be signed with the aim of promoting cooperation in agriculture, food, science and research, and agricultural products. During the meeting, H.E. Bin Fahad was given a formal invitation to attend the Sixth World Arabian Horse Racing Conference which will take part in May 2015 in Poland on the sidelines of the 7th H.H. Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival.
At the end of the meeting, the Polish Ambassador extended his sincere thanks and appreciation to the Ministry of Environment and Water for its efforts in facilitating transport of food products from Poland to the UAE.
On another occasion, H.E. Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad met with H.E. Osman Mohammed-Omar, Eritrean Ambassador to the UAE, at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi to discuss ways of reinforcing and supporting cooperation in areas of export of agricultural crops from Eretria.
During the meeting, the Eritrean Ambassador emphasized the efforts to raise the bar on agricultural production and prevention of the desert locust pests which are considered among the biggest challenges facing agriculture and affecting food security in Eretria. The Horn of Africa countries are the origin of the desert locust plagues.
For his part, H.E. Bin Fahad emphasized the Ministry’s commitment to expand cooperation with other countries to double the efforts in environmental areas. He pointed out to the importance of international cooperation in the prevention of agricultural pests, namely the desert locust which directly impacts on food security and the economy of affected countries.
At the end of the meeting, the Eritrean Ambassador extended his gratitude and appreciation to the Ministry of Environment and Water for its efforts in strengthening cooperation between the two countries.
The UAE is a state member of the ‘Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Central Region’ which was established in 1967 under the umbrella of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The commission comprises 16 member states, including the UAE.
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