Director-General of IOFS H.E. Yerlan Baidaulet convened an online meeting with Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries of Tunisia H.E. Dr. Akissa Bahri. Sheikh Bilal Khan, Head of IFPA Project Office and Dr. Ismail Abdelhamid, Director of Project and Program Office were present at the meeting as well and delivered an elaborate review of all the IOFS programmes.
Dr. Akissa Bahri thanked the IOFS Secretariat for providing such a thorough presentation and commented on the relevance of food security in Tunisia. Given its arid climate, noted the Minister, Tunisia would highly benefit from the IOFS programme on ‘Water Management in Agriculture’. Dr. Akissa Bahri also pointed out to the Tunisian experience in the genetic research, which could be valuable in the IOFS work on gene banks. She also expressed interest in the development of strategic commodities and their export to regional markets.
The minister fully supported the IOFS strategic programmes and remarked on their alignment with priorities of Tunisia. She expressed willingness to enhance collaboration with IOFS and shift the country focus towards agriculture, sustainability and health.
Director-General expressed hope that Tunisia may become a major player in the implementation of all IOFS programmes and achieve shared objectives collaboratively. Sides thanked each other for the fruitful discussions and agreed to meet again at the Third General Assembly.
