Kuwait pavilion at Expo Milano organizes symposium on food security

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Kuwait's pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 and Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) co-organized a symposium on the role of agricultural development in food security on Monday.
The symposium, held at the Expo's conference center, discussed the role of Kuwaiti investments in sustainable development and the challenges relating to food security.
The event moderated by head of the pavilion Mazen Al-Ansari gathered General Consul in Milan Abdulnasser Boukhaddour, KFAED's economic advisor Dr. Abdulkarim Sadeq and director of the services and hi-tech dept. of the Milan Chamber of Commerce Raffaello Benetti, as well as experts in the agricultural development, heads of several missions to the Expo and representatives of the local and international media.
In his speech to the symposium, Dr. Sadeq said the problem of famine and malnutrition became a global multi-faceted phenomenon affecting nearly 795 million people in the least-developing and developing countries.
"The figure could rise further in the coming years unless immediate measures and effectives strategies aren't put in place," he warned.
The economic crisis of 2008 shed light on the role of agriculture in driving economic growth curbing the prevalence rate of poverty and unemployment," Dr. Sadeq said, calling on all countries, particularly food importers, to double efforts to attain self-sufficiency in food.
The Kuwaiti expert reviewed the successful efforts made by his country in addressing the problems of scarcity of natural resources such as fresh water and farmland through seawater desalination and land reclamation.
On KFAED's role in development, he said the Fund financed more than 860 infrastructure development projects in such areas as agriculture, health, education, energy, communication and sanitary drainage in 104 countries.
"These projects cost a total of USD 18.4 billion, including USD 14 billion in sectors relating to food security, until March 31, 2015," he added.
Dr. Sadeq extolled His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for his initiative to launch the Decent Life Fund, run by KFAED.
The Decent Life Fund, proclaimed at the Fourth World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) in Kuwait in 2008, involves an initial Kuwaiti contribution of USD 100 million to reduce the impacts of the then food crisis on the least-developing countries.