IOFS THREE-DAY ‘STRATEGIC COMMODITIES AND FOOD SAFETY’ FORUM KICKS OFF IN QATAR

IOFS THREE-DAY ‘STRATEGIC COMMODITIES AND FOOD SAFETY’ FORUM KICKS OFF IN QATAR
14 February 2022
On February 14, 2022 IOFS ‘Strategic Commodities and Food Safety’ Forum organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Municipality of the State of Qatar from 14 to 16 February started in Doha.

The live-streamed international hybrid Forum provides a platform to exchange innovative high-impact solutions to radically elaborate the OIC food security system into a more sustainable network. The event brought together ministers, decision-makers, opinion-leaders and leading scientific experts worldwide to discuss strategic commodities and food safety issues and better understand environmental, nutritional, agricultural, demographic, socio-economic drivers and outcomes of intra-OIC food security system. The event saw the ceremony of official announcement of the IOFS-COMSTECH Fellowships Program for researchers from the OIC Member States in the Food Security discipline and the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between IOFS and ICCIA took place.

The Forum was inaugurated keynote speeches from Minister of Municipality of the State of Qatar, H.E. Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Subaie; Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), H.E. Prof. Ahmed Sengendo; Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the State of Qatar, H.E. Mr. Arman Issagaliyev, Secretary General of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ICCIA), H.E Mr. Yousef Hassan Khalawi; Director-General of the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), H.E. Dr. Tarifa Al Zaabi and Director General of the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS), H.E. Prof. Yerlan Baidaulet.  


H.E. Yerlan Baidaulet in the opening speech remarked that IOFS mission is to safeguard sustainable food security in the OIC Member States through socio-economic development and systemic promotion of targeted programs related to agriculture, science and technology, humanitarian aid and food to the Member States. IOFS Director General along with aspects of developing Wheat, Rice and Cassava commodities through The Programme on Development of Strategic Commodities and Creation of Centers of Excellence within the OIC countries, also mentioned agriculture issues delaying the development of strategic commodities such as shortages of arable land, lack of usable water, effective food production system and food security governance and others.

H.E. Yerlan Baidaulet expressed gratitude to the Qatari Government and its people for the warmest welcome and conveyed confidence that the Forum help to identify key opportunity and growth areas to develop strategic commodities in our geography through implementing all our strategic objectives together with collective fruitful outcomes and continued stability and sustainable development of the OIC markets.