Under the auspices of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Qatar will host the Global Dryland Alliance (GDA) Founding Conference from October 14 to 16 at the Sheraton Grand Doha Resort and Convention Hotel.
Delegations from 25 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Sahel, Central Africa, Central and East Asia, and South America, as well as international organisations, will attend the conference, according to a
statement.
The conference will witness the signing of the foundation treaty of the new organisation headquartered in Doha.
The GDA is an initiative by His Highness Sheikh Tamim to establish an international organisation to face food insecurity consequences and the negative environmental and economic impacts associated with climate change.
Ambassador Bader al-Dafa, executive director of the Global Dryland Alliance, said: “The Alliance is an international organisation that will contribute to stability and peace in the world by ensuring food security in
dryland countries.”
The GDA aims to combat food insecurity, develop solutions for shared food security problems and exchange expertise in times of crises. It seeks to work with local, regional and international partners to identify, disseminate and implement solutions for agricultural, water and energy challenges faced in dryland countries.
According to the statement, the GDA will promote partnerships with both the public and private sectors to fund and implement programmes and projects of the member states in different fields related to food security.
Drylands have become a critical issue given the space they occupy across the globe. According to a United Nations classification, drylands exist in 51 countries that are home to a third of the world’s population.
Ambassador al-Dafa highlighted the importance of international co-operation as “the best way to develop new solutions based on research and technological innovations, and improve policies and successful applications in the field of food security”.
He added, “The GDA will complement the efforts of existing international organisations and will not duplicate their work or compete in the field of food security.”
