Ambassador Berik Aryn, Director-General of the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS), describes Egypt as a cornerstone partner in the organisation’s efforts to strengthen food security across OIC member states.
In an exclusive interview with Ahram Online, Aryn reflects on his role in bringing Egypt into the IOFS during his tenure as Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Cairo and praises Egypt’s extensive expertise in agriculture, water management, food banking and large-scale land reclamation as a model for the wider Islamic world.
He also outlines plans to deepen technical cooperation with Egyptian ministries and institutions, linking Egypt’s experience in climate-smart agriculture, irrigation and strategic crop production with countries across Africa and Central Asia.
Ahram Online: Egypt possesses extensive agricultural expertise, large-scale land reclamation projects and major regional initiatives such as the Egyptian Food Bank. How does the IOFS plan to draw on Egypt's model and technical capabilities to support other OIC member states, particularly in Africa?
Ambassador Berik Aryn: Egypt is an important and active member state of the IOFS and has significant experience that can be shared with other OIC countries. I have a personal connection to the development of IOFS-Egypt cooperation. During my tenure as Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Egypt, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi paid an official visit to Astana in February 2016, during which Egypt signed the Statute of the Islamic Organization for Food Security.
We regard Egypt as an invaluable source of practical knowledge in areas such as agricultural development, strategic commodities, irrigation, organic fertilisers, large-scale agricultural production, and food storage and distribution. Over the past several years, the IOFS has used its platforms and capacity-building activities to facilitate the exchange of expertise among member states. The Egyptian Food Bank offers another strong example of civil society engagement in alleviating hunger. The IOFS has brought together food bank institutions from African and Arab countries to learn from the Egyptian model.
Going forward, we aim to move from awareness-raising to structured technical cooperation by connecting Egyptian institutions and experts with their counterparts in interested OIC countries, developing training programmes and supporting scalable pilot initiatives.
Last year, I met with Professor Hani Sewilam, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, and Alaa El-Din Farouk Zaky El-Sayyed, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation. We agreed to work with both ministries and the Regional Center for Water Resources and Irrigation to implement regional capacity-building programmes and pilot initiatives that support sustainable water management across OIC member states.
AO: Since assuming leadership of the IOFS in April 2024, what is your strategic roadmap for strengthening food-security mechanisms across OIC member states?
Ambassador Berik Aryn: Since taking office, my priority has been to make the IOFS more practical, project-oriented and responsive to the needs of our member states.
The first pillar is partnership. Food security requires collective action, so we have strengthened cooperation with the IsDB, FAO, UNDP, UN Women, CGIAR centres and regional organisations. These partnerships bring together expertise, financing and implementation capacity.
The second pillar is active implementation. We are establishing an international gene bank in Kazakhstan, advancing the digitalisation of irrigation in Central Asia with the IsDB, implementing agricultural value-chain and livestock projects across Africa, and supporting women’s participation in agri-food value chains with UN Women.
The third pillar is institutional development. Together with the IsDB and SESRIC, we are preparing the OIC Strategic Plan for Food Security. We have also established a task force to revise the IOFS Strategic Vision 2031, with the aim of strengthening project delivery, monitoring and resilience across member states.
AO: Geopolitical escalation across several regions, including along maritime routes, has severely disrupted global supply chains, the availability of fertilisers and grain logistics. How does the IOFS assess the combined impact of these global shocks on vulnerable member states?
Ambassador Berik Aryn: The IOFS views geopolitical shocks as interconnected systemic risks that can rapidly trigger food insecurity, particularly in vulnerable, import-dependent and conflict-affected OIC member states.
In response, the IOFS is proactively addressing these vulnerabilities through a comprehensive framework built on three pillars of resilience: diversifying trade corridors, establishing regional safety buffers and empowering farmers through robust climate-smart risk management.
We are translating this strategy into measurable action on the ground. This includes advancing the OIC Food Security Reserve System (OIC-FSR) to stabilise supplies during disruptions to maritime and land routes, implementing the National Food Sector Development Programme to improve regional trade coordination, and working through our subsidiary, the International Islamic Food Processing Association (IFPA), to strengthen cross-border private-sector logistics. In close coordination with the IsDB and SESRIC, we are also drafting the Strategic Plan for Ensuring Food Security in OIC Member States (SPEFS-OIC), which will serve as our definitive roadmap for technology transfer, investment mobilisation and the expansion of intra-OIC trade.
AO: Egypt is currently undertaking major national megaprojects. In what concrete ways can the IOFS partner with Egypt to leverage this infrastructure?
Ambassador Berik Aryn: Climate change is already affecting agricultural productivity, water availability and production costs. The central question is how to produce more efficiently under increasingly difficult climatic conditions and growing water constraints.
The IOFS aims to work with Egyptian institutions to facilitate the exchange and adaptation of technologies and expertise in climate-smart agriculture, water-efficient irrigation, controlled-environment agriculture, digital farming, renewable-energy applications in agriculture and the sustainable use of agricultural inputs.
Egypt's experience in water management is particularly relevant. The IOFS participates in and organises sessions at Cairo Water Week each year, using the platform to raise awareness among OIC member states of innovative approaches to irrigation, digital water management, water-use efficiency and other technologies relevant to climate-resilient agriculture.
Through such platforms, the IOFS seeks to connect Egyptian and international expertise with the needs of other OIC member states, particularly countries facing growing water scarcity.
AO: What initiatives is the organisation prioritising to move food security from reactive emergency aid towards long-term agricultural self-reliance in developing member states?
Ambassador Berik Aryn: Our objective is to move away from a model that responds mainly after a food-security crisis has emerged and towards one that builds resilience and productive capacity in advance.
To achieve this, we follow a country-driven approach, launching targeted pilot projects aligned with national priorities and expanding successful initiatives into regional programmes as local capacity grows.
Under the Afghanistan Food Security Programme (AFSP), the IOFS implemented projects focused on wheat, maize and soybean production in Herat, Logar and Mazar-i-Sharif. Co-financed by the Government of Kazakhstan, the IOFS, TIKA and CICA, the initiative supported more than 1,000 smallholder farmers by providing improved seeds, fertilisers, agricultural tools and practical field training.
At a broader institutional level, the IOFS supports initiatives involving gene banks and the conservation of agricultural genetic resources. We are also working on digital and smart agriculture, water-management solutions and technology-focused projects.
AO: What role did the IOFS play in Kazakhstan's first Kurultai election?
Ambassador Berik Aryn: The IOFS participated as an accredited international observer in Kazakhstan’s first parliamentary election for the new unicameral Kurultai, a milestone in the country’s continuing political transformation.
The IOFS observation mission comprised seven accredited international observers. The mission reported that the polling stations it visited were well organised and technically equipped. According to the observers, voting proceeded in a transparent and orderly manner, with clear voter information and signage available throughout the polling stations.
Overall, our impression of the voting process has been positive, the Organisation said. We observed a calm atmosphere, professional work by election commissions, and citizens participating with a strong sense of civic responsibility.
Source: https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/1234/575454/Egypt/Foreign-Affairs/IOFS-and-Egypt-deepen-cooperation-on-water,-food-b.aspx
