[05/April/2008]

SANA'A, April 05 (Saba) - Arab Agriculture ministers are set to meet later this month in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to address issues related to the agricultural development in the Arab World, the state-run 26sep. net has said.

The meeting would be organized by the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD).

Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Mansour al-Howshabi said the meeting will seek to activate Arab cooperation and coordination to have a unified approach that will help realize the Agricultural development goals as well as ensuring good ways to achieve food self-sufficiency and security in the Arab World.

The meeting will also address present and future challenges facing the Arab agricultural development and the causes of the agricultural investment slowdown in the Arab World, al-Howshabi said.

The issue of food security will be given the top priority at the discussion, especially under the bad consequences of soaring prices of foodstuffs such wheat which in turn produced social and economic challenges, he added.

FR/FR