Qatar will handle the operational budget of the Global Dryland Alliance (GDA) for two years and the cost of hosting the headquarters in Doha, HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani announced. He was inaugurating the GDA founding conference held under the patronage of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Several ministers and delegates from a number of dryland countries around the world attended. At the event, the founding treaty of the GDA was signed by the participating delegation heads.

HE Sheikh Abdullah called on the international community including countries and organisations to support this alliance and contribute to its trust fund to ensure its continuity and guarantee its capability to provide benefit to all.
“The signing of the treaty is a recognition by the member states that the dryland nations are exposed to serious risks due to global climate change, population growth and economic and social disruptions,” he highlighted.
HE Sheikh Abdullah said that the initiative of the GDA was the commitment of Qatar towards world community. “In compliance with Qatar's commitment as an active partner in the international community came the initiative of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in his speech addressed at the 68th UN General Assembly in September 2014 to establish a global alliance for dryland nations.”
“HH the Emir, in co-operation and co-ordination with states and global organisations, called for this alliance to specialise in guaranteeing food security to benefit more than three billion people living on drylands and spread throughout 50 nations around the world,” HE Sheikh Abdullah continued.
He also added that HH the Emir has confirmed that the GDA will neither be a substitute for already established global organisations nor a competitor and it will complement their efforts to achieve food security.
HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister highlighted the importance of looking into the treatment of deteriorated land as a matter of high priority to face many global obstacles.
“The situation is becoming more complicated for more than 50 dryland nations listed by the UN, with a large number of world population living in them under poor water resources, deterioration of arable areas, spread of poverty and famine; all leading to political and social instability, migration, homelessness and loss of hope in homelands and forces poor countries to depend on humanitarian aids.”
He said that Qatar gives utmost importance to achieve environmental protection, diversify food resources as a strategic choice within the Qatar National Vision 2030 and its overall national strategy.
He also stressed that handling desertification, land deterioration and drought exceeds the capacity of many countries that suffer from these problems and the global community must provide all the support to them.
HE Sheikh Abdullah said establishing the GDA and adding it to the UN organisations, distills the principles of the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and supports most of its 17 developmental goals especially eradicating poverty, hunger, ensuring good health, wellbeing, providing water and clean energy at affordable prices, and combating the negative effects of climate change.

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