Morocco and Australia expressed, on July 2, in Rome, their commitment to further strengthening bilateral cooperation in agricultural resilience, which constitutes a “challenge for both countries.”
On the sidelines of his participation in the 43rd session of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests, Mohamed Sadiki, held talks with his Australian counterpart, Murray Watt, on ways to strengthen agricultural cooperation, notably through scientific research and training on issues linked to agricultural resilience.
Sadiki stated that Morocco and Australia “aim to boost their collaboration at several levels, especially drought adaptation and agricultural resilience,” noting that the two countries are currently facing drought.
For his part, the Australian minister pointed out to the press that the two countries face similar challenges, such as the sustainability of agri-food systems, expressing his firm commitment to consolidating cooperation in this field to benefit Morocco and Australia.
During this meeting, also attended by Morocco’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Agencies in Rome, Houda Ayouch, the two parties highlighted the role of human development in agriculture, stressing the importance of promoting the sector to youth.
The Moroccan minister also held talks with his Spanish and Ghanaian counterparts on the Kingdom’s role in regional food security and its pioneering experience in agriculture and water resource management.
Morocco took part in the opening of the 43rd session of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), which was marked by the election of the organization’s Director-General and a series of high-level round tables on the integrated management of water resources.
As the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) supreme governing body, the Conference draws up recommendations on global food and agricultural issues and examines global governance policy matters.
FAO’s Director-General, Chinese Qu Dongyu, was first elected in June 2019 and was re-elected for a second term on June 2 in Rome.