(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
The Global Dryland Alliance (GDA) Founding Conference, hosting delegations from 25 countries from the Middle East, North Africa, Sahel, Central Africa, Central and East Asia, and South America, and international organisations, will convene in Doha from October 14 to 16.
The conference, being held under the auspices of Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, will witness the signing of the foundation treaty of the new organisation which will be headquartered in Doha. The GDA is an initiative by the Emir to establish an international organisation to face food insecurity consequences, negative environmental and economic impacts associated with climate change.
Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Bader Al Dafa, the Executive Director of the Global Dryland Alliance, said: 'The Alliance is an international organisation that will contribute to stability and peace in the world by ensuring food security in dryland countries.
GDA aims to be an international organisation to combat food insecurity and to develop solutions for shared food security problems and exchange expertise in times of crises.
The Alliance aims to work with local, regional, and international partners to identify, disseminate, and implement solutions for agricultural, water, and energy challenges of dryland countries. GDA will promote partnerships with the public and private sector to fund and implement programmes and projects of the Member States in different fields related to food security.
Drylands have become a critical issue given their space in the globe. Under the United Nations classification, drylands exist in 51 countries which are home to almost 3 billion people, a third of the world's population.
During the 2010 Millennium Development Goals Review Summit, the UN General Assembly has expressed its concern about lack of progress in regards to eradication of poverty and hunger in dryland countries where half of the world's hungry and poor live.
Through cooperation with countries and organisations committed to ensure food security for drylands' inhabitants, GDA will work to fill the gaps between research and food security policies to help dryland countries enhance their food security and access reliable resources of food, water, energy, seeds, and fertilisers.
Ambassador Al Dafa highlighted the importance of international cooperation being 'the best way to develop new solutions based on research and technological innovations, and improve policies and successful applications in the field of food security.
He added: 'GDA will complement the efforts of existing international organisations and will not duplicate their work or compete in the field of food security.
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