Food insecurity and water scarcity are without any doubt one of the most critical challenges facing the Near East and the North Africa.

Figures confirm that the region counts around 33 million undernourished people and is one of the most water-scarce regions in the world. Per capita freshwater in the Near East and North African countries plummeted by two-thirds during the last 40 years and, with climate change coming into a play, water availability is expected to further decrease in the years to come.

In light of these alarming challenges, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) will held today a meeting with the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) of the League of Arab States to discuss various areas of cooperation at the regional office of the Organization on 19 November 2015.

The meeting aims to discuss all areas of cooperation, in which how to achieve the goals of sustainable development in the field of agriculture, water resources and crop productivity and sustainable increase of animal and fish resources.

Further, FAO will support the areas of capacity building training for coaches and programs to exchange experiences and training programs for young professionals programs.

This cooperation comes in light of the consensus objectives between FAO and AOAD, to stand on the current situation and to reach a sustainable agricultural productivity improvement in the future.