Muscat: Oman participated in the International Seminar on Food Security for the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, held on Thursday, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries Wealth & Water Resources said that the Sultanate, represented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries Wealth & Water Resources (MAFWR), participated through a video conference in the International Seminar on Food Security in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which was held today in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The representatives from the ministries of agriculture in the GCC countries, specialists, academics from (international, regional, and local universities) and scientists from research centres participated in the seminar, in addition to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Bank, the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development(AOAD), the Islamic Organisation for Food Security(IOFS) and the United Nations Environment Program(UNEP).
The Sultanate’s delegation to the conference was headed by His Excellency Dr. Ahmed bin Nasser Al-Bakri, Undersecretary of the MAFWR, and a number of specialists in the ministry participated.
The seminar aimed to showcase the knowledge gap for policymakers about global, regional, and local food security, increase knowledge and exchange information about food security in the GCC countries, discuss the most prominent challenges facing food security and suggest ways to protect it, present some success stories to combat food insecurity and increase regional awareness of food security and dealing with the establishment of an integrated Gulf food system at the level of the GCC countries.
The seminar discussion also covered the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security and international trade and the extent of the implications of some measures taken by some countries around the world during the pandemic, including restrictions and bans on exports, and the repercussions of this on the GCC countries.
It should be noted that the harsh environmental conditions such as water scarcity, desertification, climate change are putting the local food production system in the GCC countries in danger. Therefore, most of their food requirements are being met by importing foodstuff from various countries, and despite the classification of all GCC countries among the 50 countries that enjoy food security, the unprecedented Gulf economic closure and the extraordinary situation in the global food market resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic requires renewed focus to address regional food security issues to achieve a secure food supply chain and sustainable rates of food self-sufficiency.
