ACSAD, Iraqi Environment Ministry Sign Cooperation Agreement

BAGHDAD, (ST) – Iraqi Ministry of Environment and the Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands signed here recently a cooperation agreement in the areas of green belts and studies of natural vegetation, biodiversity systems and environmental impact, land and water use and the fight against desertification in addition to cooperation in the integrated management of water resources and socio-economic studies.

The five- year agreement aims to promote scientific and technical cooperation between the two sides and to benefit from scientific and technological progress and application of sound management of natural resource, conservation of the environment in Iraq and the development and rehabilitation of Iraqi technical competencies.

The Iraqi Minister of Environment Dr. Qutaiba al-Jubouri, noted the role played by ACSAD in the field of spreading the modern applied scientific technologies in the various agricultural and environmental fields in the Arab countries, in addition to its focus on research work.

For his part, Director General of ACSAD Dr. Rafiq Ali Saleh expressed the readiness of the center as a house of expertise to serve the agricultural and environmental development issues, provide scientific and applied data and advanced techniques to achieve the desired goals.

It is noteworthy that ACSAD was founded in 1968 and based in the city of Damascus as an Arab specialized organization aims to unify efforts for the development of agricultural research in the arid and semi-arid areas, exchange of information and experiences, transfer of the development and localization of modern agricultural technologies in order to increase agricultural production in these areas.

Sharif al -Khatib