PM: We Work On Developing Strategies To Combat Desertification And Find Solutions To Water Crisis

Baghdad / NINA / - Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi affirmed that work is being done to develop strategies to combat desertification and find solutions to the water crisis. Addressing the attendees at the 36th Regional Conference for the Near East and North Africa in cooperation with the FAO, Al-Kadhimi said, "Your presence and participation today is an enhancement to Baghdad's role as the capital of peace, the capital of meeting, and the capital of cooperation and partnership, between the countries of the region and the world. For thousands of years, our ancient ancestors invested in this exceptional geographical spot, which enjoyed fertile soil, and God blessed it with the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and with a suitable climate, and they were able to turn it into productive and fruitful plains, until it came to be called the land of blackness, a metaphor for the fertility of its land and the spread of agriculture in it. He added: "Your conference, entitled (Recovery and Re-Employment), which examines the development of food and agricultural systems capable of achieving sustainable development goals, requires us to diagnose challenges and solutions strategies to reach desired results, based on the available capabilities, diagnose challenges, and benefit from pioneering human experiences in this field. Al-Kadhimi continued: "The world today is facing the challenges of drought, desertification and climate change, and this type of challenge is multiplied in Iraq, due to the absence of modernization in modern agricultural and irrigation systems for many years, due to absurd wars, corruption and mismanagement, and we are working today to transform these challenges into opportunities. We are also working on developing strategies to combat desertification and finding solutions to the water crisis. In Iraq, and at the level of the region and the world, we face fundamental questions: How will we face these crises? How do we achieve food and water security in our countries? How do we face climate change? Our future generations? He stressed: "The responsibilities of the current generations are great, as the crisis affects everyone without exception, and we have to work in a collective spirit, to rise above our narrow and our own interests, and to adhere to the spirit of cooperation and partnership and launch towards integration; to achieve comprehensive water and food security, which will necessarily lead to the development of a pattern the lives of our communities, achieving prosperity and sustainable development. The Prime Minister pointed out: "Our region is living today in complex conditions and great challenges, and there is an impact of political differences on the renaissance of this region, which has all the ingredients for advancement, and the solution starts from neutralizing sustainable development projects, especially at the level of food and water security for our peoples." Al-Kadhimi stressed the need for us to have the spirit of one teamwork, because we are the sons of this land, we remain in it, and cooperation and partnership are the natural choice to secure the future of our coming generations. He stated: "The language of dialogue, joint thinking, and avoiding self-solutions that do not take into account the interests of the neighborhood, is the cornerstone of cooperation and partnership, as no society can grow at the expense of another, and the human experience leads us to this conclusion, and to this result." He added: We seek in Iraq to achieve integration with our neighbors. We have problems at the level of projects established in the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates. We must adopt the principle of common interests and dialogue to solve them in a way that guarantees the interests of all. There are many commonalities in our region, and we must improve their management, in order to devote the concept of cooperation and partnership, with real work on the ground.” / End