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Iraq

FAO Strengthens Commitment to Iraq in Addressing

Environmental and Agricultural Challenges

Following up the meeting between
the Director General of the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO), Dr QU Dongyu, and His
Excellency the President of the Repub-
lic of Iraq, Abdul Latif Rashid, during
the UN 2023 Water Conference which
underscored Iraq’s commitment to find-
ing sustainable solutions to the country’s
multiple environmental and agricultural
challenges, a dedicated team from the
organization’s headquarters successfully
concluded a mission to the Republic of
Iraq from 10 to12 October.
Led by Mr LI Lifeng, Director of the
Land and Water division (NSL), and ac-
companied by Ms Fidaa Haddad, For-
estry Officer of Forestry division, Mr Ja-
copo Monzini, Senior Natural Resources
Management Officer of Investment Cen-
tre and Mr Feras Ziadat, NSL officer, the ment, and Climate Change Resilience mental Facility (GEF) to enhance its re-
working group closely assessed Iraq’s (PWG4). This meeting, which was also at- silience against the impacts of climate
diverse environmental and agricultural tended by a representative of the office change and land degradation. The mis-
challenges and potential solutions, in- of the Deputy Special Representative of
cluding water harvesting and storage, the United National Secretary-General sion’s objectives align closely with le-
modern irrigation, combatting sand and for Iraq (DSRSG), provided a compre- veraging the GCF to support Iraq’s envi-
dust storms , afforestation, wastewater hensive overview of the climate-related ronmental and agricultural priorities, all
treatment and re-use, drought tolerant challenges in Iraq and showcased the of which are geared towards addressing
crops. climate impacts, environmental chal-
collaborative efforts of various United lenges, improving food security, and en-
Accompanied by FAO Representative Nations agencies in addressing these suring a sustainable future for Iraq.
in Iraq, Dr. Salah El Hajj Hassan, and his challenges.
team, the mission participated in impor- The team also had the opportunity to Dr. El Hajj Hassan stated “Our role in
tant meetings with key Iraqi high-level closely witness FAO Iraq programs and Iraq is a testament to FAO’s unwavering
officials including a Grand Audience strong collaboration with key Iraqi min- commitment to addressing the country’s
with the President of the Republic, pro- istries, underscoring FAO’s commitment agricultural and climate challenges. We
ductive discussions with the Prime Min- to supporting Iraq’s sustainable devel- are committed to working hand in hand
ister’s Advisory Committee, collabora- opment efforts and fostering impactful with the Government of Iraq to bring
tive dialogues with His Excellency the partnerships. about transformative solutions. FAO will
Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Awn continue to provide support to strength-
Dhiab Abdullah, their Excellencies the Iraqi officials expressed their deep ap- en Iraq’s resilience to the impacts of cli-
Technical Deputy of the Ministry of En- preciation for FAO’s work and coopera- mate change.”
vironment, Dr. Jasim Abdul Aziz Hamadi, tion. They acknowledged FAO’s critical
the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for role in addressing environmental and The FAO mission to Iraq represents an
Bilateral Relations, Ambassador Moham- agricultural challenges, further strength- important step towards addressing Iraq’s
med Bahar Al-Ulum, and the Technical ening the enduring partnership between agricultural and climate challenges pri-
Deputy of the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Iraq and FAO. orities. The collaboration between FAO
Mithaq Al-Khafaji. and Iraq’s esteemed partners is expect-
Mr. Li emphasized the vital role of the
In addition to these significant meet- Green Climate Fund (GCF) proposal, ed to create transformative solutions that
ings, the delegation convened with currently under review by the Fund, in will help sustainable resources manage-
members of the UN Country Team Pri- addressing these climate-related chal- ment, strengthen the bastions of food se-
ority Working Group promoting Natural lenges and advised to maximize the curity and build the nation’s resilience in
Resource and Disaster Risk Manage- resources of GCF and Global Environ- the face of adversity.
Arab Agriculture 2024 19