Speaker of the Shura Council H E Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim participates in the 5th conference of the Arab Parliament and Speakers of Arab Councils and Parliaments, in Cairo, yesterday.
Cairo: Speaker of the Shura Council H E Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim affirmed that Qatar has made significant strides in the field of food security, while actively contributing to international efforts to promote sustainable development and food security in the least developed countries.
This came in a speech delivered by the Speaker at the 5th conference of the Arab Parliament and Speakers of Arab Councils and Parliaments, held in Cairo yesterday, which tackled the most important challenges facing Arab countries in food security and the role that parliamentarians can play to overcome these challenges, in addition to the state of instability, crises and conflicts that are sweeping some Arab countries.
He said Qatar has made great progress in achieving food security, as it ranked first in the Arab world and twenty-fourth in the world in the food security index of 2021.
Qatar’s Food Security Strategy (2018-2023), which is currently being updated, aims to enhance national food production, diversify import sources, and establish a strategic reserve that balances food stocks, he indicated.
Qatar has invested heavily in developing food and agricultural policies, infrastructure, market updates, ports, and storage reserves, he said, adding that Qatar has attached great attention to food security research, established a fund to sponsor agricultural and food research, and intensified efforts to adapt to climate change, conserve various resources, and utilise renewable energy in the agricultural sector.
In the international context, the Speaker of the Shura Council referred to Qatar’s contribution to supporting international efforts to achieve sustainable development, and to assist the least developed countries in securing food as a strategic partner in the development of these countries, pointing to the Doha’s preparations to host the second part of the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, slated for March 5-9 and set to gather heads of state and government, representatives of civil society and other stakeholders.
Speaker of the Shura Council called on the Arab countries to tackle the problem of food security by enacting legislation, and exchanging experiences, studies and information related to this field .. stressing the importance of coordination between all relevant authorities within each country. He pointed out that the Arab countries suffer from a food gap, caused by natural reasons such as the scarcity of water resources, climate change, epidemics and pandemics that have swept the world, or by human reasons such as population density, instability due to wars and conflicts and the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war, stressing the importance of cooperation and integration, and setting joint plans, projects and mechanisms to achieve them.
The Speaker touched on the developments in the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, which only get worse under each new Israeli government. He added that during the short period in which Netanyahu’s extremist government assumed power, occupation forces and settlers killed dozens whilst more than 560 Palestinians were arrested, hundreds were injured, homes were demolished and farms were levelled, with the aggression continuing to grow ever fierce and criminal, with no consideration to the calls of the international community.
On another issue, the Shura Council Speaker reaffirmed that the recent attacks on Islamic sanctities and the insulting of Islamic religious symbols, including the burning of copies of the Holy Quran in several European countries, are yet another episode and escalation in a series of previous attacks that occur from time to time.
He added that for their insults to Islam and Muslims not to continue, it is imperative to carry on calling for the enactment of international legislation that distinguishes between the limits of personal freedoms and contempt for religions.
The Speaker also expressed his deepest condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims of earthquake in Turkiye and Syria, wishing the injured speedy recovery.
