Cooperation agreement signed between ACSAD Center and the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture

Damascus (ST): The Arab Center for Studies of Dry Areas and Arid 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 sand storms, climate changes and how to transform degraded lands 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 for the Iraqi side by the Minister of Agriculture, Mohammad 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 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.

K.Q.