Talks in Doha will focus on regional food security and bilateral cooperation

Rome, 21 May 2009 – Kanayo F. Nwanze, the new President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), will meet His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, during Nwanze’s first visit to Doha since his election in February as the fifth President of IFAD.

During his stay in Qatar, which begins on Sunday 24 May, Nwanze is also expected to meet His Excellency Youssef Kamal, Minister of Economy and Finance, Her Excellency Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad, President of Qatar University, His Excellency Faleh Bin Nasser Al Thani, Director, General Directorate of Research and Agricultural Development of the Ministry of Environment and other senior government officials.

Achieving regional food security and consolidating bilateral cooperation will be the focus of the talks. IFAD’s support for capacity-building programmes involving Qatari nationals and investment in agricultural land in low-income developing countries are also on the agenda.

The food price hikes of the past three years have triggered a drive towards investments in overseas agricultural production to satisfy demand for affordable and reliable food supplies in Arab countries.

The Economic Summit of the League of Arab States (LAS) held in Kuwait last January concluded with a declaration calling for increased efforts to help LAS countries reach greater food security and self-sufficiency.

IFAD is working with Qatar University to organize the Regional Conference on Achieving Food Security in the Arab World, to be held in Doha from 17-18 November 2009. The conference will bring together experts, private investors, policymakers and international and regional organizations to shape mechanisms and action plans to make food security in the Arab World a reality.

The meetings of IFAD’s President in Doha will also look at speeding up the implementation of knowledge-transfer and capacity-building initiatives benefiting Qatari institutions and nationals.

Nwanze will brief his interlocutors on the Eighth Replenishment of IFAD’s resources. The US$1.2 billion target agreed by the Eighth Replenishment is the largest ever since IFAD’s establishment in 1977. Over US$950 million have already been pledged by Member States, including Saudi Arabia with US$50 million. Qatar has not yet announced its contribution – it contributed US$10 million to the previous Replenishment.   

The talks will also cover the Qatar-sponsored restructuring and restyling of the Information Centre at IFAD Headquarters in Rome, which will reflect Qatar’s national identity and cultural heritage. The Qatar Information Centre is expected to be inaugurated in February 2010.

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Notes for Editors

Qatar has benefited from IFAD-financed regional programmes especially in agricultural research.  As of December 2007, IFAD had provided more than US$110 million in grants to support agricultural research, capacity-building and technology transfer in the Near East and North Africa region. Many of these grants benefited member countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), including Qatar.

Contributing to the evolution of the agricultural and food processing sectors in GCC countries, IFAD grants supported the treatment of diseases, the development of marine resources, the promotion of rational use of water resources, in partnership with national, regional and international research centres. The ongoing Red Palm Weevil Integrated Pest Management Programme in the Near East has helped contain this pest, which afflicts date production. Other pioneering programmes include the Regional Water Demand Initiative (WaDImena) to raise awareness of rational water use in the Gulf countries, and the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and Improvement of Major Production Systems of the Arabian Peninsula.

Qatar is also benefiting from training opportunities for its nationals and from support for a regional facility on genetic engineering.

Over the past two years, 14 Qatari nationals have taken part in training and capacity-building courses organized by the IFAD-supported Agriculture Management Training Programme (NENAMTA) in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen.

Media Advisory: MA/06/09

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The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) works with poor rural people to enable them to grow and sell more food, increase their incomes, and determine the direction of their own lives. Since 1978, IFAD has invested over US$11 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries, empowering some 340 million people to break out of poverty. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized UN agency based in Rome – the UN’s food and agricultural hub. It is a unique partnership of 165 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).