Damascus hosts ACSAD's General Assembly's 26th session
Syria, Economics, 5/20/2002

The 26th session of the General Assembly of the Arab Center for the Study of Arid Zones and Dry Areas( ACSAD) was opened in Damascus on May 18 through 20, under the patronage of the Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa Miro.

In a statement to Arabic News (ArabicNews.com) , ACSAD's deputy director general Nouri Rahoumeh said the General Assembly which supervises ACSAD's work process, is composed of its member states Arab ministers of agriculture. Its works are distributed on several specialized administrations which are: monitoring land studies and water uses; water studies, livestock studies, plant studies, the economy and planning and finance and administration.

He added that ACSAD's GA's 26th session among other things has the following items on its meeting's agenda: memorandums on the international agreement to fighting desertification; introducing informatics and information technology in ACSAD and its budget for 2001, electing a new director for ACSAD for the next four coming years starting as from July 12, 2002 and other related issues.

He added that ACSAD's main task is to defy challenges imposed by dry climatic conditions and semi areas of fragile agricultural systems through providing basic scientific and advanced technology means so as to achieve social and agricultural development objectives and best use of natural resources.

In an inaugural speech, the minister of Agriculture and Agrarian reform Nour eddine Mouna noted the tremendous potentials available at the Arab agricultural sector and to the fruitful and continue inter- Arab co-operation with ACSAD for ensuring food security to the Arab states.He also indicated the importance of the Arab agricultural sector as the backbone of Arab economy, stressing the need of collective efforts to find out a unified Arab strategy on the ground of maintaining Arab integration and co-operation to cope with international changes Noting Syria's experience in boosting agriculture, the minister highlighted the vast and positive strides Syria achieved in the area of attaining food security through investing available potentials and attaining self- sufficiency in several basic agricultural produce. The minister also hinted Syria's continued efforts to improve production quality and quantity, adding that it always gives top priority to the agricultural sector, within the context of integrated development programs for the Syrian countryside; boosting poorer area, and getting all human potentials involved in the development process and also merging women in the process of rural development.

The minister stressed that Syria, at the directives of President Bashar al-Assad is working determinately and in close coordination with the Arab states on the two fronts of overall development and liberating the occupied Arab territories in the Golan South Lebanon and restoring the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

In her speech, the representative of the Arab League AL General secretariat Fatemah Mallah said that arid and semi arid areas constitute 90% of the Arab homeland area with a desert and semi desert climatic conditions.She that, for that developing these areas is considered an important step towards a better future for agricultural development and attaining Arab food security.

She indicated the great confidence entrusted by the Arab states in ACSAD to find out applicable, practical and scientific solutions of hindering obstacles to boosting these areas and converting them from margined areas in regard to nomadic life to integrated social areas that would contribute effectively to supporting inter- Arab economic structure besides preserving the environment.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by the minister of state for Environment affairs Adnan Khuzam, the Libyan minister of Agriculture Muhammad al-Zaedi, the Iraqi agriculture minister Abdullah Hameed Muhammad, the Lebanese minister of agriculture Ali Abdullah, the minister of agriculture in Somalia Abdul Wahid Alami Omar, the Palestinian official in charge of agriculture in the Palestinian territories Hikmat Zeid, the AL representative Fatemah al-Mallah, several deputies of ministers, representatives of several Arab and international organizations concerned accredited in Damascus, ACSAD's director general, and several Arab ambassadors in Damascus.

Previous Stories:
  Damascus's advanced training workshop on the use of remote sensing techniques   (3/18/2002)
  Third Training Workshop on the use of Remote sensing techniques and GIS in monitoring, combating desertification   (10/1/2001)
  ACSAD 's 2nd training course on the use of Remote Sensing techniques and GIS in Monitoring Combating Desetrification   (11/2/2000)

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