Wednesday, 14 November 2012 | DOHA The International Conference on Food Security in Dry Lands (FSDL) was ceremonially opened today under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. The vital conference, organized by Qatar's National Food Security Programme (QNFSP), in collaboration with a number of National, Regional and International partner institutions was declared open by the President of Qatar University Her Excellency Professor Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad, Chairman of the Conference His Excellency Sheikh Fahad Bin Mohammed Al Attiya and President of Qatar Administrative Control & Transparency Authority His Excellency Abdulla Bin Hamad Al Attiya.
Her Excellency Professor Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad inaugurated FSDL conference with her opening address and welcomed a distinguished gathering of ministers and senior government officials, international experts, policy developers, researchers, scholars, representatives of international and regional organizations, private and public financial institutions and members of the media, who packed Qatar University's Ibn Khaldoon Hall to its full capacity. In her welcoming remarks Her Excellency Professor Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad reiterated the importance of FSDL conference goals which focussed on three crucial themes; Food security, Water resources, demand and management, and Responsible investment.
Chairman of the Conference His Excellency Sheikh Fahad Bin Mohammed Al Attiya captured the attention of those gathered by focussing on the stark global realities before us. He commented on the challenges brought on by climate change and global warming, resulting in critical food security and water scarcity issues that heavily impact over one third of the world's population. He also confirmed the high priority given by Qatar's government towards the cause of securing a stable future for dry land countries by its dedicated and focused investments. He commented on Qatar's National Vision of 2030 and the nation's unwavering commitment to collaborate and support economic, social, human and environment development; a commitment that has resulted in Qatar's steadfast funding and backing of research efforts and multiple creative approaches aimed at eradicating food and water insecurity. He was pleased to announce that in a future focussed move Qatar University was opening up a stream of graduate study that will be based on the same concerns being addressed by the conference. He concluded his address by saying it was his hope he said that other countries will follow Qatar and invest financially and intellectually in the future by seeking new avenues to manage this imminent challenge.
President of Qatar Administrative Control & Transparency Authority His Excellency Abdulla Bin Hamad Al Attiya expanded on Qatar's commitment to work collaboratively towards finding global solutions that would lead towards Strategic water management solutions and best practices. He reaffirmed his hope that the conference would result in strategies and action plans to adapt to climate change, foster integrated approaches, know-how transfer, inspiring visions and solutions for optimal use of water and thereby lay the ground work for food security.
Other speakers who addressed the opening session at the conference included His Excellency Saleh Abdel Moamen, Egypt's Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, His Excellency Jose Graziano da Silva, Director General FAO, His Excellency Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of IFAD and His Excellency Ahmad Mohamad Ali Al-Madani, President of the Islamic Development Bank Group.
The opening session at the FSDL conference was eloquently rounded off by Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. Dr. Pachauri shared two key realities that have compounded the issue of food security; population growth and the disparity between the rich and poor growing larger by the day. He affirmed his belief that to circumvent the challenge of food security, the world will need to be committed towards 'converting oil wealth to soil wealth.' Dr. Pachauri concluded his address on a positive note, calling for each of us to remember that when it comes to water scarcity and food insecurity, we are all in this together.
The on-going International Conference on Food Security in Dry Lands will conclude on the 15th of November 2012.
-Ends-
© Press Release 2012
