H.E. Yerlan Baidaulet thanked the UAE Government for their continued support of IOFS and in particular the leadership of the Minister and the very proactive role of H.E. Essa Alhashmi.
The Director General provided an overview of the key IOFS programs where the UAE can play a strategic role especially food security governance and cooperation regarding humanitarian programs vis-à-vis the less privileged OIC countries with reference to the work being done by the Red Crescent and WFP. He also mentioned that the IOFS is keen to be a coordinating platform for international agri-research centres such as ICARDA and ICBA as the Minister is also the Chairman of the latter one.
H.E. Mariam Al Mheiri provided the grand vision of the UAE Government and discussed at length their food security strategy including establishing the Foodtech Valley. H.E. Essa Alhashmi provided particular insights into real examples of the current UAE's strategic efforts and expressed their desire to utilise the platform of International IFPA.
Sheikh Bilal Khan gave an overview of the vision and mission of International IFPA, highlighting the strategic initiatives for translating the IOFS policies via the B2B private sector platform of IFPA and showcasing the success stories of agri-businesses in Member States including Kazakhstan and UAE especially in food-tech and agri-tech across the value chain in the entire ecosystem. Sheikh Bilal Khan also discussed IFPA having local presence in the UAE's food tech hub and agreed with H.E. Mariam Al Mheiri's proposal to synergise IFPA's regional strategy with the vision of the UAE Minister of Industry & Advanced Technology, H.E. Sulran Bin Ahmed Al Jaber.
Following the meeting, the delegation visited the renowned Fish Farm in Jabel Ali Zone and were given a tour of the site with details of the organic and sustainable nature of the variety of fishes.
