The Regional Office for the Near East of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations will organize in collaboration with The Near East and North Africa Regional Network for Agricultural Policies (NENARNAP) and the Institute of National Planning (INP), a regional workshop on “Emerging Global Issues in Food and Agriculture: Implications for Agriculture and Food Security in the Near East” from 22 - 23 November, 2009 at the premises of the Institute of National Planning (INP), Salah Salem Street (Intersection with Al-Tayaran St.), Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt.

The regional workshop will be attended by the National Focal Points, representatives from Ministries of Agriculture and government institutions responsible for agricultural policy and planning from NENARNAP member countries and other countries in the Near East: Egypt, Algeria, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen, as well as representatives of regional organizations: AOAD, World Bank and other UN agencies. 

The main objective of the workshop is to review, and exchange information on emerging issues and recent developments in food and agriculture at the global/regional levels, and assess their implications for agricultural development and food security in the Near East countries, as well as to enhance the capacities of NENARNAP focal points in understanding and analysing food and agricultural policy-related issues. 

To achieve the above objectives, the workshop will focus on four main items with examples from the region: 1) Food security in the Near East: implications of global food price crisis; 2) Recent developments in international investment in agriculture; 3) Agricultural strategies addressing current and emerging agriculture and food security challenges in the region; and 4) FAO agricultural policy-related initiatives. 

The workshop will also address other agricultural policy issues, including: i) the implications of the global financial and economic crisis for agriculture and food security; ii) virtual water trade; and iii) the economics of production and consumption of wheat in Egypt.