Meet to discuss ways to develop sustainable agriculture

Dr Abdulrahim Abdulwhahid
Emirates Business

The 7th Session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ministerial Conference on Food Security and Agricultural Development and the Inaugural General Assembly of the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) will be concurrently held in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan, between April 26–28. The Conference will be hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan in coordination with the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). During the sitting, it is planned to elect the members, director general and chairman of the Executive Board of the Islamic Organization for Food Security, approve the internal regulations of the organization’s secretariat and agree on the basic directions of the organization’s activity.
The Conference will act as a platform for continued dialogue and increased cooperation between the OIC member countries and their partners towards promoting the sustainable agricultural development and eradication of hunger and
undernourishment.
The established OIC’s institution will enable to coordinate efforts of member states in the agricultural sector, to develop strategies of development of the agro-industrial complex, to give technical assistance, and also to undertake practical measures for addressing such challenges as hunger and malnutrition. It will not only identify and monitor food security in its member states, but will also implement practical policies and programmes to achieve goals and objectives contained in its
charter.
The Conference aims at sharing the best practices and experience in food security and agricultural development among the member countries and strengthening their collaboration and cooperation with the relevant regional and international organizations. The preparations for the First General Assembly of the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) and the proposed five year Plan of Action of the IOFS are further to be discussed in the Conference.
The institution was first proposed by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 2011 at the 38th session of the meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OIC held in Astana and its implementation was one of the main priorities of Astana’s OIC chairmanship from June 2011 to November 2012. The charter, name, goals and objectives, legal status and functioning processes of the IOFS were agreed upon at a meeting in Astana on June 11-12, 2013. It was agreed that the IOFS should become an independent international organisation headquartered in Astana, with the same diplomatic immunity as the OIC. On January 13, 2015 the headquarters of the Secretariat of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, hosted the expert meeting of the OIC member countries at the initiative of Kazakhstan to discuss establishing of an Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) under OIC and preparation for hosting its General Assembly. All OIC member states, which took part in the event, expressed readiness to give full support to Kazakhstan in establishing and subsequent effective operation of the IOFS.
The initiative of the Republic of Kazakhstan is based on the consecutive position of Kazakhstan about the need to ensure a sustainable development around the globe, where one of the main conditions is food security.
Completing the process of legally establishing such an international institution in such a short time, deciding on the costs of the secretariat for its first three years of work and appointing a national coordinator were taken as firm steps on the part of Kazakhstan and increased OIC members’ confidence in Astana’s implementation of the IOFS idea. On pragmatic grounds the new institution will also contribute to strengthening the global position of Kazakhstan as a food producing powerhouse.
The new organization brings together Kazakhstan, Iran, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Djibouti, Sudan, Somalia, the Union of the Comoros, Palestine, Mauritania, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Afghanistan, Surinam, Libya.