HE Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen A. AlFadley and IFAD’s President, Gilbert F. Houngbo launches today in Riyadh the IFAD's first liaison office in the Gulf region.
The opening of this office will promote IFAD's partnerships with the Gulf Cooperation Council States, their financial institutions, private companies, foundations and research centers. It will also support IFAD's efforts to end poverty and hunger, promote food security and rural development in the Arab world. The office will also facilitate knowledge exchange and the implementation of regional programs to help the Gulf States to address their own food security issues.
AlFadley said that the opening of this office will enhance the cooperation and partnerships and between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the member states of the GCC and their development and financial institutions. It will also contribute to extend IFAD's programs, strengthen collaboration with the private sector and facilitate the implementation of regional food security programs, including technical assistance and capacity-building.
"the Kingdom attaches considerable importance to supporting the IFAD and helps it achieve its goals and mission; thus, it recently increased its financial contribution by 10%, affirming the ongoing cooperation in agricultural development and inclusive and sustainable rural transformation to combat poverty and hunger, achieve food security and improve living conditions," AlFadley added.
Al-Fadley stressed that the Kingdom's continued support to IFAD's is a part of the policies and strategies implemented by the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques that are geared towards strengthen cooperation with international and regional partner organizations and institutions, including the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Gilbert F. Houngbo was pleased to open this office, which symbolizes the importance of strengthening the IFAD's collaboration with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the GGC States, as well as supporting sustainable food security in the region.
The head of the IFAD Relations Office for the Arab States of the Gulf, Suliman Abdullah Al-Sawi also stressed the importance of the opening of this office, which will strengthen the partnership between the IFAD and the GCC States, their ministries, agencies, and research centers to reduce poverty and hunger, enhance food security and rural development in the Arab world.
IFAD chose the Kingdom as the headquarters of the liaison office for the Arab Gulf states, where the Secretariat General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf is located. The IFAD also considers the 2020 G20 Summit which will be held in Riyadh a great opportunity for IFAD to participate in discussions on supporting smallholder farmers and follow up on the Reimbursable Technical Assistance (RTA) program implemented in Saudi Arabia, since February 2018, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA). The program plays important role in achieving the sustainable development goals of food security.
The program was implemented in Saudi Arabia's Jizan Region and costs about $1.17 million to boost production of coffee and mango crops through establishing 60 model coffee farms and 10 model mango farms, train 30,000 smallholder farmers and provide employment opportunities for Saudi nationals.
It is worth mentioning that Saudi Arabia played a major role in the establishment of IFAD in 1977 and has been a strong supporter of the fund for the past 40 years as its contributions totaled $485.87 million, counting for almost two-thirds of total Arab official development assistance.
The IFAD looks forward to strengthening its partnership with the Kingdom in core issues such as fragility, water scarcity, migration and youth employment, which provides great opportunities to benefit from their cooperation at the global level in fields of rural development, food security and agricultural investments, in addition to supporting small-scale livestock keepers, fisheries, bees, honey, roses, Coffea Arabica, and rain-harvest crops.
Furthermore, the IFAD works along with MEWA in its preparations for a successful G20 meeting which is to be held in Riyadh next year, with a special focus on the global financial architecture (G20 finance).
The IFAD is an international financial institution and UN specialized agency invests in sustainable rural transformation programs to eradicate poverty and improve food security. It also empowers remote rural communities to help the world's poorest and most marginalized people.