UAE/FAO UN75 Webinar on Research, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems

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The United Arab Emirates Vision 2021 underscores innovation, research, science and technology as key pillars of a knowledge-based, highly productive and competitive economy, driven by entrepreneurs in a business-friendly environment. The Food and Water Security Office (FWSO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are partnering to develop an agenda for research, technology and innovation, together with its implementation roadmap and monitoring and evaluation mechanism.

This event is organized also in the context of the UN75 talks with following objectives:

•  Serve as a platform for dialogue on the role and contribution of RTI for food security, and key enablers and disablers for effective and responsive RTI;
• Officially launch and inform relevant stakeholders about the RTI project concept, implementation approach and expected results;
• Share information on resources and other initiatives to develop synergies and foster collaboration during implementation. 

Welcoming remarks:

• Dena Assaf, United Nations Resident Coordinator, UAE
• Dino Francescutti, FAO Sub-Regional Coordinator for GCC States and Yemen and FAO Representative in the UAE 

High Level Panel:

• HE Mariam bint Mohammed Al Mheiri, Minister of State for Food and Water Security, UAE
• HE Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Technology, UAE
• Maximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist, FAO
• Serge Nakouzi, Deputy Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa and Officer-in-Charge of the FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa 

Moderator:

• Dino Francescutti, Sub-Regional Coordinator for GCC States and Yemen and FAO Representative in the UAE 

Technical Level Panel:

Inception workshop Introductory remarks

• Fatema AlMulla, Senior Research Analyst – Food and Water Security Office 
• Brief introduction of the RTI project and implementation approach, followed by Q&A
• Armen Sedrakyan, Economist, FAO Sub-Regional Office for GCC States and Yemen 

Technical panel discussion

• Selvaraju Ramasamy, Head of the Research and Extension Unit, Office of Innovation, FAO
• Bhanu Chowdhary, Dean, College of Food and Agriculture, United Arab Emirates University
• Alaa Juma, Director of Technical Services, Agricultural Affairs, Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA)
• Tarifa Al Zaabi, Deputy Director General, International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) 

Moderator:

Abdoulaye Saley Moussa, Natural Resources Officer, FAO Sub-Regional Office for GCC States and Yemen

Concluding remarks

• Dino Francescutti, Sub-Regional Coordinator for GCC States and Yemen and FAO Representative in the UAE
• Fatema AlMulla, Senior Research Analyst, Food and Water Security Office