@FAO-SNG pictures from the Consultation meeting

Abu Dhabi, 16 Feb 2017

Building on the fruitful collaboration between the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Abu Dhabi hosted on Wednesday 15 February, a consultative meeting on the way to developing the UAE’s Food Diversification Policy.

Attended by H.E. Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment and Mr. Nabil Gangi, FAO subregional coordinator ad interim for the GCC and Yemen, the meeting was well attended by a wide range of local and federal entities, private sector companies, academia, regional and international organizations, reflecting the need to take a holistic approach in order for the forthcoming policy to be effective.

The meeting will pave the way to analyzing food diversification options in the UAE to enhance food security and develop a comprehensive federal policy and its related action plan. This policy will be covering the whole food value chain, imported and domestically produced food, including consumption and disposal of food.

In his opening remarks, H.E. Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi thanked FAO for assisting the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment in this ambitious project.

He said that the UAE is food secure, through a series of major steps it has taken in the recent years, such as developing a strategic reserve through public and private partnerships to protect itself from short-term food supply disruptions, as well as water conservation and agriculture strategies.

But Dr. Al Zeyoudi noted the need for a strategic shift towards more sustainable forms of production and consumption throughout the whole of food value chain, without neglecting the importance of reducing food waste at both production and consumption stages, and to explore the growth potential of the UAE’s food-related industries.

He thanked the participants for joining efforts in developing a comprehensive policy, a first of its kind in the UAE, which aims to address a wide range of issues including investment, trade, natural resource management, household diet, food waste management, and cooperation at a national level.

FAO Deputy Regional representative and acting FAO representative in UAE, Mr. Nabil Gangi, addressed the meeting by presenting the selected team of FAO experts, stressing on the extent of their knowledge, and the relevance of their skills to achieve the required task.

Mr. Gangi called onto all participants to provide insights and guide the team throughout the steps of formulating the actionable strategy of food diversification.

Additional stakeholder consultation meetings are expected in the coming months in support of the policy formulation.