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Qatar and The United States to Cooperate on Global Food Security

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah noted: "Both the United States and Qatar see food security as a development issue that must be addressed comprehensively and creatively."

"This agreement demonstrates the strong partnership between our nations and emphasizes our joint commitment to address this global challenge," said Dr Shah. "Research to improve dry land agriculture is essential to the success of President Obama's Feed the Future Initiative. More importantly, this partnership will improve the lives of people living in food insecure countries who rely on rain-fed agriculture."

In September 2010, the UN and Qatar took the first steps to establish the Global Dry Land Alliance (GDLA) in a high-level side event during the 65th Session of the UN General Assembly. The event, chaired by Minister Al-Attiya, aimed to initiate the process of creating development partnerships among dry land countries and to find lasting solutions to the problem of food security. Alliance partners who were present at the launch included the United Nations, the League of Arab States, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Representatives from the following key multilateral organizations also participated in the event: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).

"The MOU will provide a framework for realizing the two countries vision to combat world hunger and to enhance global food security," Minister Al-Attiya explained. "Through collaboration with the U..S, we will take concrete steps to develop new technologies to expand sustainable food production. Qatar is particularly interested in investing in technologies and models that can be transferred to other dry land countries. The GDLA was launched as a platform for dry land countries to share their expertise and developments in new technology."

Among those in attendance at the signing ceremony were representatives of the Qatar National Food Security Program (QNFSP), the U.S. State Department, USAID, the White House, and Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Following the signing ceremony, Fahad Al-Attiya, chairman of the QNFSP, stated that "Qatar is seeking to design innovative solutions for dry lands to increase agricultural production and achieve food security in the future."

"The QNFSP's strategic goals include developing renewable energy, effective water resources management, and use of solar desalination for dry land irrigation," he said. "The QNFSP plans to initiate agricultural production using cutting-edge farming systems that will include novel and efficient irrigation practices, hydroponics, and advanced protected agriculture."

United States Ambassador to Qatar, Joseph LeBaron, noted the importance of concerted U.S.-Qatar efforts in confronting global food security challenges: "This agreement is extremely important to the deepening relationship between Qatar and the United States Food Security is not only of high common concern; it is an area for bilateral strategic cooperation, both in the region of the broader Middle East and beyond, to Africa and Asia."

At the launch of the GDLA, Minister Al-Attiya stated: "National food security aims cannot be achieved without the highest political commitment and investment in science, research and technology to enhance domestic food production. Today Minister Al-Attiya reiterated the urgent need for action: Food insecurity will affect dry land areas the most. These areas are severely affected by arable land erosion and factors such as salinity, desertification, loss of biodiversity and water scarcity."

Earlier today, following a bilateral meeting between President Obama and His Highness the Emir of Qatar, the President highlighted: "We also discussed some of the areas where our two countries are cooperating beyond the Middle East; for example, Qatar has been a leader internationally around the issues of food security, and so we are partnering on those issues."

Both parties were gratified that the U.S.-Qatar relationship, which entails many areas of political and economic cooperation, was strengthened by today's MOU signing.

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Qatar National Food Security Program
PHONE. (347) 681-4765