Rice agriculture in Egypt – Photo by Hussein Tallal
CAIRO – 7 October 2022: “Egypt has a transparent vision of the issues and challenges that the Arab world, the region, and the entire world suffer from regarding climate change and its impacts, particularly on the agricultural sector,” Iraqi Agriculture Minister Muhammad Karim al-Khafaji to Egypt’s state-owned news agency MENA.
He praised Egypt’s hosting of the twenty seventh Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 27) due in Sharm El Sheikh City in November, saying that the conference reflects Egypt’s role.
The Minister revealed that Iraq prepared a working paper on climate challenges and would discuss it with partners in Egypt.
He added that the Iraqi president and the ministers of agriculture, environment and irrigation will take part in the COP27.
“We’re working to support it because it would express the challenges facing the Arab world and the entire world,” he said.
“A gathering of the Arab agriculture ministers shall be held to debate the Arab food security, the problem of climate change, agricultural cooperation, facilitating trade exchange and customs procedures between Arab countries with the view to confronting the present global food crisis,” the minister said.
“Egypt and Iraq have the infrastructure and great potentials to attain food security and self-sufficiency in light of the present global crises following the hike in food prices and the impacts of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis on the worldwide market and the economy,” the minister added.
