Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – 04-05 December 2024 – To represent the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) at the 8th Annual Coordination Meeting of OIC Institutions (ACMOI), held on 04-05 December 2024 at the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, His Excellency Ambassador Berik Aryn, IOFS Director General, appointed a two-member delegation composed of Mr. Israil Tilegen, and Mr. Abdula Manafi Mutualo, Chief Multilateral Affairs Officer.
The meeting brought together key representatives from various OIC institutions to strengthen coordination and collaboration on critical initiatives aimed at addressing the socio-economic challenges faced by Member States.
Considering the relevance and variety of the subjects under the IOFS Agenda, Mr. Tilegen participated at the Science & Technology Committee, while Mr. Manafi was at the Economic Affairs Committee. Both IOFS representatives were vocal in calling for strengthened coordination among all Institutions towards agreeing on suitable activities in the field of food security and agricultural development.
In fact, the IOFS joint activities that are now part of the agreed ACMOI Matrix 2025 are result of different and extensive consultations with relevant Institutions held prior to the Meeting, including with the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC).
It is important to note that throughout the two-day event, the IOFS team engaged in several bilateral consultations with relevant OIC Institutions, exploring opportunities to enhance food security across the OIC region. Discussions focused on aligning strategies to promote sustainable agricultural practices, improve food systems, and address challenges related to food crises and resilience.
Additionally, the IOFS representatives attended a "Contract Farming Brainstorming" Session chaired by the His Excellency Prof. Ahmad Sengendo, OIC Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs. The session, which included participation from the SESRIC, and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) focused on leveraging contract farming as a tool to enhance agricultural productivity, support smallholder farmers, and promote economic development in Member States. Upon IOFS proposal, the meeting agreed to include contract farming as one of the implementation mechanisms of the Strategy for Enhancing Food Security in the OIC Member States being finalized by all participating Institutions, which is expected to be approved by the 10th Ministerial Conference on Food Security & Agricultural Development scheduled to take place in the last part of 2025 in the Republic of Chad.
The IOFS remains committed to fostering multilateral cooperation and advancing sustainable food security solutions in partnership with relevant OIC Institutions, contributing to the shared vision of prosperity and well-being for all Member States, and expects to review such at the 9th ACMOI to be held on 10-11 December 2025 at the same venue.
