ACSAD organization holds the 41st session for its executive Council.
The Arab Center Organization for the studies of Arid Zones and Drylands ACSAD held the 41st session’s meetings of its Executive Council today via videoconference; in the presence of the council members from seven Arab countries and his Excellency, the Ambassador Dr. Kamal Hasan Ali, the Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Affairs of the Secretariat of the League of Arab States headed by Kuwait state.
At the outset of the meeting, the Chairman of the Executive Council of ACSAD and the Director-General of the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources in Kuwait, Sheikh Muhammad Yusuf Al-Sabah, welcomed the Council members. He Stressed that this meeting, to a large extent, embodies the existing positive coordination and cooperation between Arab countries and represents a model for the synergy of Arab efforts and the continuity of joint Arab cooperation.
He noted the achievements and scientific and applied results reached by ACSAD. He said: During its scientific career, studies, research, projects, and activities in its work field, ACSAD has made many achievements, especially in the field of achieving water and food security and addressing the challenges of climate change in the Arab countries.
He stressed that the reports and notes presented on the agenda of the 41st session reflect ACSAD’s interest in the scientific and applied fields, and its working as a link between research and study and the broad application at the field level among Arab farmers, supporting development efforts and developing technical and scientific capabilities, which earned it a good reputation at the Arab and international levels and became the home of Experience for all Arabs in various fields of work. He also expressed his confidence that the new administration of ACSAD would strengthen and develop business and made achievements that serve joint Arab action process and achieve the center’s goals.
For his part, His Excellency Ambassador Mohamed Khair, Director of the Organizations Department at the League of Arab States, praised the work carried out by the Arab Center ACSAD in the dry and arid lands in the Arab world, which gave fruitful and positive results despite the challenges and repercussions left by Corona in the last stage.
He stressed that the General Secretariat saw the Arab Center as an Arab expertise house with a distinguished scientific reputation and worthy of being one of the most important bodies and organizations working to develop the agricultural sector in the Arab world.
He praised the new administration’s qualitative and quantitative development under the leadership of the Director-General, Dr. Nasr Edin Obeid, in the activities of the center at all levels, expressing his hope that the next phase would bear many achievements to achieve water and food security.
For his part, His Excellency Dr. Nasr Edin Obeid, Director-General of the Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and DryLands, welcomed the heads and members of delegations to the meetings of the forty-first session of the Executive Council. He stressed that meeting the invitation for this meeting confirms their keenness to support ACSAD and its applied scientific process aimed at developing agricultural development in the Arab countries. and strengthening joint Arab action.
He added: In light of the tremendous and rapid developments in the fields of technology, science, and innovation, especially in light of the severe climatic changes in recent years that the Arab region has still suffered, we have committed ourselves to make more efforts to enrich our work in quality and quantity by keeping pace with global developments and phenomena and consolidating the scientific method in various research activities. He also emphasized that the center was able during the previous period to overcome the adverse effects of the spread of the Corona pandemic and worked with its total capacity in completing studies and research according to the established plans.
Dr. Nasr Edin Obaid pledged that ACSAD pursues its scientific and technical work with great vim, enormous merit, and aptitude to achieve its goals. The most important of them are updating the scientific and technical knowledge, focusing on digital transformation, implementing the work plans that have the Arab countries interest, expanding contacts, and opening new horizons for cooperation with all Research, development, and financial institutions in Arab countries and Arab and international organizations. The benefit from distinguished Arab expertise, cooperate and coordinate fully and absolutely with the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, and abide by the decisions of the Economic and Social Council, the Higher Coordination Committee for Joint Arab Action, and the Organizations Committee for Coordination and Follow-up.
The Director-General of ACSAD expressed his hope that the meetings of the forty-first session would reach results, decisions, and recommendations that would contribute to supporting the Arab Center’s march towards achieving its goals. He noted that the agenda presented to the Executive Council meetings is replete with important topics related to the progress of work for the year 2020 and the work of the Arab Center as a house of expertise and reports of the Commission Financial control and accounts inspector, in addition to scientific and technical issues.
After his speech, His Excellency the Director-General of the Arab Center Organization, Dr. Nasr Edin Obeid, expressed his appreciation for the support provided by Syria to the organization in terms of securing infrastructure and land for applied scientific research stations; experts and researchers.
For their part, all the heads of delegations of the Arab ministries of agriculture, members of the Executive Council from Tunisia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iraq, Kuwait, and Morocco, affirmed their high appreciation for the importance of the results of ACSAD research and studies in their countries and called for developing cooperation with the organization in various fields of competence.
The meeting was attended by a number of Arab, regional and international organizations—FAO, ICARDA, ESCWA, the Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development, the Arab Labor Organization, the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, and the Union of Arab Engineers.
