On 14 November 2022, the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) held a virtual Conference on Implementation of the Afghanistan Food Security Programme (AFSP) with the participation of Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), OIC General Secretariat, and the International Committee of the International Crescent (ICIC).
The Opening Session was addressed by Mr. Ramiz Alakbarov, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), and H.E. Amb. Tarig Bakheet, OIC Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian, Social & Cultural Affairs, Special Envoy of OIC Secretary General for Afghanistan, who were unanimous in congratulating the IOFS for its efforts in that country, as well as ensuring their respective Organizations’ support for the successful implementation of AFSP.
During his statement, H.E. Mr. Yerlan Baidaulet, IOFS Director General, highlighted the main principles behind the AFSP, what had so far been done, and the plans the Organization has for the near future, including dispatching an IOFS Humanitarian Convoy to Afghanistan before the end of the current year.
Participants also heard presentations by Mr. Abdula Manafi Mutualo, IOFS Senior Liaison Officer and AFSP Coordinator, on implementation of the program and the profile of the immediate response projects therein. Ms. Makpal Bulatova, IOFS Program Manager responsible for Wheat Projects, briefed participants on training for Afghan scientists on Afghanistan Wheat Issue: the Breeding of Nutritious and Climate-Resilient Varieties in Islamabad, Pakistan, on 22-25 November 2022 in cooperation with COMSTECH and the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), and Mr. Talgat Kupishev, Porgram Manager responsible for Trade & Private Sector, detailed the plan for convening an Afghanistan Agribusiness Forum in Almaty, Kazakhstan, tentatively in the last week of February 2023.
It should be noted that the Conference aimed at assessing the AFSP implementation status after it was mandated by the Resolution adopted by the 17th Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers on the Situation in Afghanistan, held on 19 December 2021 in Islamabad, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
