Morocco and Australia expressed, on Saturday in Rome, their desire to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in agricultural resilience, a “challenge shared by the two countries”.
On the sidelines of his participation in the 43rd session of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests, Mohamed Sadiki, discussed with his Australian counterpart, Murray Watt, ways to strengthen Moroccan-Australian agricultural cooperation, notably through scientific research and training on issues related to the resilience of agriculture.
“We are aiming to accelerate our collaboration on multiple levels, in this case drought adaptation and agricultural resilience,” Sadiki told MAP, noting that “Australia is facing drought, a challenge that Morocco also faces”.
For his part, the Australian minister told MAP that the two countries share common challenges, despite the distance, including the sustainability of agri-food systems, expressing his firm desire to deepen bilateral cooperation in this area in benefit of both parties.
In the presence of the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations Agencies in Rome, Houda Ayouch, the ministers also highlighted the role of human development in agriculture, insisting on the need to consolidate the attractiveness of sector with the youth in order to guarantee a sustainable future and continuity of efforts.
Earlier, the Moroccan minister had met with his Spanish and Ghanaian counterparts. The Kingdom’s role in regional food security and its pioneering experience in agriculture and water resources management were, respectively, at the heart of these interviews.
Morocco took part in the opening of the 43rd session of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which will be marked by the election of the Director General of the organization and a series of high-level round tables around the integrated management of water resources.
The supreme governing body of FAO, the Conference makes recommendations on global food and agricultural issues and considers global governance policy issues.
The election of the organization’s Chief Executive for the next four years is scheduled for Sunday. The outgoing CEO, Qu Dongyu of China, was first elected in June 2019. He is running for another term unopposed for re-election, according to the FAO.