At the online meeting on June 4, IOFS and COMSTECH signed a Memorandum of Understanding and adopted the Joint Action Plan. The Action Plan covers a number of joint events scheduled from July to November 2021; they include training sessions for Asian, African and MENA Countries, as well as an international conference. The conference would sum up and review the results of the three training sessions.
Director-General of IOFS H. E. Yerlan Baidaulet presented the 16 strategic programmes of IOFS with a special focus on the OIC STI Agenda 2026; those are the Development of National Gene Banks, Food Safety and Halal Food Development, Transboundary Pest Control Management and Water Management in Agriculture. He expressed interest in collaboration with COMSTECH on water management and new breeding technologies and invited COMSTECH to participate in the Roundtable on Water Management in Agriculture in the fall of 2021. COMSTECH was also welcomed to take part in discussions with the Kazakh National Agrarian University on the Development of Water Hub on June 21, 2021.
Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary, Coordinator General of COMSTECH expressed appreciation to the statements of the Director-General of IOFS and noted the similarity of the mandates of COMSTECH and IOFS. Prof. Khurshid Hasanain, the Advisor at COMSTECH, stated that the organization carries out initiatives related to sustainable water management and innovative breeding technologies for food and nutritional security, and suggested collaborating in those areas.
The session was attended by the representatives of IOFS, COMSTECH and the national agricultural research centre BCI. The parties agreed to cooperate in the implementation of capacity-building activities in agriculture and food security, and identify the scientific and technological needs of the OIC member countries.
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