UN General Assembly President Addresses Expo-2011 on South-South Cooperation

Rome, December 06 (QNA) -UN General Assembly President HE Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser(Qatar) has underlined that improving agricultural productivity as being a fundamental factor for economic growth , sustainable development and world welfare is one of the main pillars defined by the agenda of the 66th session of the UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY which HE abdulaziz al-nasser chairs. This came in a speech HE Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser delivered before the Global South-South Development (GSSD) Expo in Rome. The Expo-2011 is organized by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) and is attended by a number of UN affiliated organisations and specialized agencies. The UN General Assembly President HE Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser said that South-South cooperation is a key element to tackle hunger and ensure food security, a top United Nations official said today, calling on countries to strengthen their partnerships at the Global South-South Development (GSSD) Expo in Rome. "Around the world, almost 925 million people go to bed hungry each night. Most of them are in the South," said President of the General Assembly Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, urging countries at the expo to expand the search for innovative and sustainable solutions to food security. For five days, participants at the GSSD expo, which began today, will meet to discuss ways to achieve sustainable and equitable development and transfer effective solutions with the support of the donor community under innovative public-private partnerships. HE Al-Nasser said the event offers States the opportunity to examine successful strategies and technologies and learn from each other when it comes to improving agricultural productivity, increasing social protection, managing fragile ecosystems, improving nutrition, and combating diseases. HE Al-Nasser also stressed the importance of partnerships not just between the South but also with Northern countries. "South-South cooperation complements and does not replace North-South cooperation," he said. In addition, he highlighted initiatives that are already improving food security conditions for countries in the South such as the Global Dry Land Alliance-Partnering for Food Security, which seeks to strengthen cooperation among dry land nations, and the African Union s Great Green Wall Initiative, which aims to plant a wall of trees across Africa, from Senegal to Djibouti, to combat the effects of land degradation, aridity and desertification. HE Al-Nasser underscored that partnerships will increase the capacity of all developing countries to "feed their citizens, raise production capacities, and gainfully participate in food supply chains created to meet rising food demands in rapidly growing populations." (QNA)