Damascus-SANA
The Arab Center for Studies of Dry Areas and Dry Lands “ACSAD” signed today with the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture a “cooperation agreement” on ways of cooperation and activities between the two sides and mechanisms for holding training courses to benefit from the center’s experience in developing the capabilities of Iraqi workers in the field of combating desertification, dust and dust storms, climate changes and how to transform lands degraded to productive lands and cultivated with strategic crops.
The agreement was signed by the center's director general, Dr. Nasr Al-Din Al-Obeid, and by the Iraqi side, the Minister of Agriculture, Muhammad Karim Al-Khafaji, at the center's headquarters in Damascus countryside.
The signing of the memorandum was preceded by a meeting between the two sides, during which a presentation of the Center’s plans and programs to support the efforts of Arab countries in achieving sustainable development, especially in the Republic of Iraq, with a comprehensive evaluation of the joint activities and projects currently being implemented and the possibility of establishing new development activities and projects, especially in the areas of desertification, rehabilitation of degraded lands, and the development of new types of Wheat and barley strains, water harvesting and supplying Iraq with improved plantings of fruit trees.
In a press statement, Al-Obaid affirmed the permanent readiness of ACSAD to put all its capabilities and expertise in the service of the programs and projects of the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture to meet its aspirations and future plans for the development of the agricultural sector in their country.
In a similar statement, Minister Al-Khafaji expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the ACSAD Center and its staff to achieve Arab food and water security and to provide their expertise in the scientific and practical field to many Arab countries, hoping that the meeting would contribute to upgrading the relations of cooperation between the Ministry and the Center to address and improve some issues related to the agricultural sector in Iraq. .
In her turn, the Director General of the Department of Forestry and Combating Desertification in the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture, Rawya Al-Azzawi, pointed out the importance of learning about the projects, activities and events carried out by the ACSAD Center on the Arab region and how to employ them in their country, Iraq, to benefit from them in developing the agricultural sector, both plant and animal, especially with regard to environmental fields and changes. climatic.
The Director General of the Agricultural Research Department at the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture, Firas Al-Hussein, pointed out the great cooperation between them and the Center in conducting agricultural research to reduce the impact of climate changes in the region, as well as to obtain distinct varieties of strategic crops.
Bushra Barhoum