Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — 3 December 2024 - On the second day of COP16, His Excellency Ambassador Berik Aryn, Director General of the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS), engaged in a series of meaningful meetings and discussions, contributing to critical global efforts addressing climate resilience and food security challenges.
The day commenced with a productive meeting between Ambassador Aryn and H.E. Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa, President of the OPEC Fund for International Development. The discussion explored avenues for deepening cooperation to address food insecurity and climate change challenges across IOFS Member States. Both leaders emphasized the importance of innovative, climate-smart agricultural projects and sustainable development initiatives to foster resilience in vulnerable communities.
Ambassador Aryn also held a constructive meeting with H.E. Yerlan Nyssanbayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and H.E. Bagdat Amreyev, President of the Turkic Investment Funds. The discussions focused on leveraging regional cooperation to enhance sustainable agriculture and climate adaptation efforts.
Furthermore, Ambassador Aryn also met with Dr. Abdoulaye Mohamadou, Executive Secretary of the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS). The meeting highlighted the long-standing and fruitful collaboration between IOFS and CILSS, particularly in the Sahel region. The two institutions agreed to further strengthen their partnership by developing targeted initiatives to combat drought, increase agricultural productivity and improve livelihoods in this climate-vulnerable area.
Later in the day, Ambassador Aryn participated in the Ministerial Dialogue on Finance titled “Unlocking Public and Private Finance for Land Restoration and Drought Resilience.” The dialogue brought together key stakeholders to discuss actionable strategies for mobilizing resources and investments to combat land degradation and enhance resilience to drought, a pressing concern for many IOFS Member States.
The day concluded with Ambassador Aryn’s participation in a high-level Summit held in the margins of COP16. The Summit, which was attended by the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, France, and Kazakhstan, as well as the President of the World Bank, aimed to accelerate global efforts toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) on water and sanitation.
Building on the momentum of the UN Water Conference in 2023, the Summit served as a platform to incubate innovative solutions for water governance and climate resilience, laying the groundwork for commitments to be advanced at the next UN Water Conference in 2026.
Through these engagements, Ambassador Aryn reaffirmed IOFS’s dedication to tackling food security challenges and climate vulnerabilities through strategic partnerships, innovative solutions, and active participation in global platforms. His involvement at COP16 highlights IOFS’s important role in promoting resilience and sustainability for the benefit of its Member States and beyond.
