Media backgrounder MB/09/08

World Economic Forum Summit on Global Agenda in Dubai to address financial empowerment among other pressing issues

Rome - Dubai, 6 November 2008 – IFAD President, Lennart Båge, will arrive in Dubai today on a four day visit to the Untied Arab Emirates during which he will participate in the World Economic Form (WEF) from 7-9 November and meet with His Excellency Obeid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Finance and Industry and His Excellency Rashed Ahmad Bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water on 10 November 2008.

Over 700 international experts, including executives from global corporations and renowned economists, will gather in Dubai for the World Economic Forum, which will address the challenges of the financial meltdown.  

In his address to the WEF Summit on Global Agenda, Båge will outline the importance of assisting the 450 million smallholder farms which provide livelihoods for over two billion people in developing countries.

Increasing their output to help satisfy market demand is essential to counterbalance the growth in food prices and to avert future crises.  In April this year, IFAD made available USD 200 million to countries worst hit by rising food prices.

Building enduring food security requires a steep increase in investment in agriculture to reverse decades of neglect and is fundamental for the sustainable economic growth needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that world leaders adopted in 2000.The Summit debate is expected to make an important contribution toward stronger policies and resources in favour of agricultural development in poorer countries.

The need for increased investment in agriculture, the problem of  water scarcity and concerns over rural youth unemployment in the Near East and North Africa region are expected to feature prominently in their discussions.

During his stay in Dubai, Båge will brief senior UAE officials on the outcome of the Consultation on the 8th Replenishment of IFAD’s Resources, including Saudi Arabia’s announcement of  USD 50 million last April.

The talks will also cover areas of cooperation between IFAD and the UAE, including boosting co-financing of agricultural and rural development projects through the Abu Dhabi Fund for Arab Economic Development. Joint activities can help reverse rural impoverishment, particularly in member states of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC).  

Båge will also brief officials on progress achieved by a large number of IFAD-financed research programmes, designed to benefit member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) including the UAE. Among these are Qatar’s Regional Centre for Plant Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Doha and the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) in Dubai.

The President of IFAD will also highlight in his discussions the possibility of UAE nationals taking part in IFAD-supported training programmes. Nationals of other GCC countries have already benefited from training provided by the IFAD-supported Agriculture Management Training Program (NENAMTA). Also on the agenda is the development of a joint Associated Professionals Programme (APO), which will give young UAE nationals a chance to gain work experience in IFAD in the area of rural development.

While in Dubai, Båge will also visit the headquarters of ICBA.

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Notes to editors

IFAD and the UAE partnership for development

The UAE, along with other OPEC members, was among the first founding members of IFAD in 1977. 

The UAE is the 6th largest contributor to IFAD resources among members of the OPEC group (List B) and 20th among all member states.

The UAE contributed USD1 million to the 7th Replenishment of IFAD’s Resources in 2005; bringing the country’s total contributions up to USD52.2 million.

The UAE provided USD54.3 million cofinancing of four IFAD-supported projects in Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Yemen through the Abu Dhabi Fund for Economic Development.

Bilateral and sub regional cooperation

• IFAD financed a number of regional agriculture research programmes in the UAE. As of December 2007, IFAD had provided more than US$110 million in grants to fund programs that support agricultural research, capacity-building and technology transfer activities, many of which directly or indirectly benefited the UAE.
• IFAD grants have supported the treatment of date palm and livestock diseases, development of marine resources, promotion of rational use of water resources and introduction of brackish and saline water irrigation in the forage production cycle. These are carried out in partnership with national, regional and international research centers such as the International Research Centre in Dry Areas (ICARDA), the Dubai-based International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) and the Arab Centre for the Studies of Dry Zones and Arid Lands (ACSAD). Among several other on-going programmes, the Red Palm Weevil Integrated Pest Management Programme in the Near East has largely contributed to the containment of this pest afflicting the Gulf’s date production.
  
• Other programmes include the Regional Water Demand Initiative (WaDImena) to raise public 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. IFAD has also supported the recent establishment of a regional facility in Doha, designed to promote regional genetic engineering capacity.
  

Helping the poorest communities in OIC countries in Asia and Africa

• The 55 member states of OIC have received IFAD financing for 333 projects for a total value of USD4.38 billion. 43 percent of IFAD’s loans and grants have been provided to OIC countries. 
  
• IFAD works closely with OIC and Arab financial institutions, such as the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the Islamic Development Bank. Some 110 IFAD-supported projects worth a total of USD5.2 billion are cofinanced by these partners. These projects have enabled a large number of poor rural families grow out of poverty and achieve food security.
  

Focussing on development priorities in the Near East and North Africa

• Cooperation between IFAD and the UAE has enhanced the impact of IFAD supported projects in the Near East and North Africa (NENA). As of December 2007, IFAD had invested in 106 projects in the NENA region through soft loans and grants of over USD1.3 billion that improved the lives of 30 million rural poor people. IFAD’s work in the region focuses increasingly on national development priorities. These include expanding poor rural people’s access to rural finance, rural youth unemployment, linking small growers of non-traditional crops with domestic and international markets, improving management of land and water resources, reducing vulnerability to water scarcity and resilience to climate change.
  
• The chairman of the board of Directors of ICBA is Fawzi Hamad Al Sultan, a former President of IFAD

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IFAD was created 30 years ago to tackle rural poverty, a key consequence of the droughts and famines of the early 1970s. Since 1978, IFAD has invested more than US$10 billion in low-interest loans and grants that have helped over 400 million very poor rural women and men increase their incomes and provide for their families. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency. It is a global partnership of OECD, OPEC and other developing countries. Today, IFAD supports more than 200 programmes and projects in 85 developing countries and one territory.