The ACSAD Organization and the Agricultural Chamber Union / Memorandum of Understanding.
The Arab Center Organization for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dryland “ACSAD” and the Agricultural chamber Unionin in the Syrian Arab Republic have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that aims at generally developing the Arab agricultural reality (plant and animal) and the Syrian one in particular and rehabilitating the agricultural and technical cadres to achieve socio-economic development and to unify the effort among the parties to reach the applied results in the areas of joint work.
The ACSAD’s Director-General, His Excellency, Dr Nasr Edin Obaid, and the head of the Agricultural Chamber Union, Mr Muhammad Kishto, signed the Memorandum of Understanding at ACSAD’s headquarters in Damascus today.
The Memorandum of Understanding provides for cooperation between the two sides to make use of the studies and practical research conducted by ACSAD, which would reflect in benefit on agricultural reality in Syria, the research stations, and the agricultural lands belonging to both sides; exchanging the agricultural and technical expertise required to rehabilitate the technical cadres of both sides to optimise the human and natural resources.
Both parties agreed on organising and attending the joint workshops and conferences, in addition to providing the requisite expertise that the other part needs from ACSAD in the technical, scientific, agricultural fields; and participating in the field days conducted by the Arab Center ACSAD in its stations in the headquarters State.
The Memorandum aims at exchanging information, scientific and technical data to serve both parties’ interest; supporting either the individual or joint research in the refereed scientific journals issued by the Arab Center ACSAD under the adopted publishing rules; as well as the constant consultation between them in various mutual interest areas to supporting collaboration efforts and developing it; improving its efficiency and effectiveness.
His Excellency, the ACSAD’s Director-General, Dr Nasr Edin Obaid, explained in a speech that this convention between ACSAD and the Union would be an apparent road map to upgrade action between the parties and establishing a practical and fertile phase of joint achievements in various areas. Especially in the agricultural sector in Syria and the Arab world, enhancing the negotiating power for both sides and developing foreign trade with Arab and international bodies.
The ACSAD’s Director-General emphasised the importance of this Memorandum under the harsh circumstances Syria goes through. He said: “we will work with all Syrian agricultural activities, particularly with the Ministry of Agriculture, to bring this sector up to our expectations in order to positively impact the private sector working in the agricultural field and marketing products and crops, especially those reached by ACSAD’s experts, increasing production and improving rural livelihoods economically and socially.
For his part, the head of the Agricultural Chambers Union, Mr Muhamad Kishto, confirmed that signing this Memorandum of Understanding between ACSAD and the Guild would be in the two parties’ interest and at the level of their expectation on both the Syrian and Arab scales.
Kishto said: “ This Memorandum will be an initiative of a practical, profound way to overcome difficulties and problems that pose an obstacle in upgrading the Syrian agricultural sector”. He also noted the great heed paid by ACSAD’s administration to raise this sector, in addition to its constructive cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform and various relevant bodies and institutions, expressing his appreciation highly to the Organization’s Director-General for his tireless efforts in this field.
