Qatar will pay for the operational budget of the newly-established Global Dryland Alliance (GDA) for two years, and will also host its main headquarters in Doha, the country said Sunday.
Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani told the GDA Founding Conference that Qatar had a great conviction of the urgent necessity of establishing the alliance, and making it a success.
He urged the international community to support the organization and contribute to the trust fund to guarantee continuity and ability to offer help.
According to the Qatari Premier, food security is a priority on the agendas of national policies, and the programs of regional and international organizations concerned with development.
He said millions of people have been suffering lack of food security, and unable to face catastrophes.
Experts expect faster pace of natural disasters that lead to drought and desertification, besides drop of water supply and quality in arid regions, as well as continued deterioration of cultivated land. This will consequently lead to lower levels of food security, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser noted.
He pointed to the initiative by Qatar's Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the 68th UN General Assembly in 2014, to establish an international organization to fight food insecurity consequences, negative environmental and economic impacts associated with climate change.
Efforts to establish the alliance and enlisting it as a UN organization go in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by world leaders in September 2015 during a UN Summit.
Twenty-five delegations from countries of the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and East and Central Asia, in addition to several international organizations, signed the foundation treaty of the GDA on the sidelines of today's conference.
The Alliance aims to work with local, regional, and international partners to identify, disseminate, and implement solutions for agricultural, water, and energy challenges of dryland countries.
GDA will promote partnerships with the public and private sector to fund and implement programs and projects of the Member States different fields related to food security.
A Kuwaiti delegation is taking part in the event, led by Board Chairman and Director General of the Public Authority of Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAF) Faisal Al-Hasawi. (end) nnd.tma.msa
