Strategic Commodities and Food Safety Forum Concludes Activities

Doha, February 16 (QNA) - Strategic Commodities and Food Safety Forum, organized by the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) in cooperation with the Ministry of Municipality, wrapped up Today three-day activities, attended by a number of Islamic World's experts and PhD holders engaging in series of seminars and discussions of several recommendations. In an exclusive statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Director of the Food Security Department at the Ministry of Municipality Dr. Masoud Jarallah Al Marri said that having finished its activities, the Forum issued recommendations related to strengthening cooperation and coordination between the IOFS countries through creating an information platform to exchange ideas and data capable of raising the productivity of strategic commodities, explaining that the IOFS would submit these recommendations to the IOFS's ministers of agriculture for discussion them in their next meeting, as well as defining a practical plan for implementation. Also, it reviewed way for raising the productivity of strategic commodities, developing halal food control systems, and organizing food safety standards, the official further said. Dr. Al Marri said the Forum emphasized the coordination between the IOFS countries to exchange expertise, production capabilities and economic data, in order to coordinate between them and invest their characteristics in raising the productivity of basic foodstuffs and achieving more food security for them. He explained that the organization, in accordance with the recommendations of the Forum, would act as of an umbrella that supervises coordination between the IOFS countries, and exchanges data between them in the field of productivity of basic commodities, especially that there are countries that have large productivity capacities in terms of large agricultural areas or abundance of water, and others that have sufficient agricultural expertise and important scientific research centers. The IOFS will be keen, in accordance with the recommendations of the Forum, to activate partnership and cooperation between the countries by collecting data and information on the productivity conditions of each of them, Dr. Al Marri said. He pointed out that the Forum issued a recommendation related to financing agricultural projects. (QNA)