Ashraf AboArafe
Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, opened today, Tuesday, September 26, 2023, at the headquarters of the General Secretariat, the Arab ministerial meeting that he called to discuss the topic of “Arab food security and financing” in the presence of Arab agricultural ministers and representatives of financial institutions, unions, and the private sector.
Gamal Rushdi, the official spokesman for the Secretary-General, stated that Aboul Gheit delivered a speech in which he emphasized the importance of food security as an integral part of Arab national security, pointing to the challenges it faces, as recent events have doubled the interest of Arab governments in this issue, especially after it was revealed The Corona pandemic is the danger of relying on global supply chains, and the aftermath of the war in Ukraine demonstrated the necessity of preparing for a decline in imports, especially of grain.
Aboul Gheit reviewed the efforts of the League of Arab States to enhance Arab food security, as it prepared a number of strategies and plans related to Arab food security, the latest of which was included in the outcomes of the 2022 Algiers Summit.
The official spokesman said that Aboul Gheit focused in his speech on the obstacle of lack of funding that prevented the implementation of these Arab plans and strategies.
The spokesman added that the Secretary-General warned of the growing food gap, which is currently estimated at more than 100 million tons of food products, affected by a number of overlapping and complex factors, including the increasing population of the Arab world, as well as the decline in rainfall rates in all parts of the Arab world due to climate change, in addition to other factors. Other impressive.
In this regard, the Secretary-General stressed the speed of dealing with these challenges facing Arab food security.
The spokesman added that the Secretary-General called for activating an Arab financing mechanism that guarantees the permanent flow of capital and encourages investment in sustainable projects, which aim to raise Arab capabilities in the fields of clean energy and smart sustainable agriculture. He also saw the importance of Arab countries benefiting from the current debate on reforming the global financial system to demand reforms that would enable them to obtain the necessary financial facilities and soft loans directed at raising their capabilities in the field of production of basic food commodities and their inputs.
Aboul Gheit also referred to the initiative to hold a periodic Arab Food Security Week that he launched, suggesting that this week’s activities focus on the issue of financing due to its importance.
The Secretary-General also called for the need to strengthen joint Arab action in the field of the Secretary-General by supporting specialized Arab organizations working in this field.
