ICARDA News

INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN THE DRY AREAS
P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
Phone: (963-21) 2213433, 2213477, 2225112, 2225012
Fax: (963-21) 2213490, 2225105; E-mail: ICARDA@CGIAR.ORG
30 January 2003
For more information contact:S.Varma@cgiar.org
AARINENA Executive Committee Meets in Oman
Dr Mohan C. Saxena, Assistant Director General; and Dr Ahmed Moustafa, Regional Coordinator, Arabian Peninsula Regional Program (APRP), ICARDA, participated in the Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa (AARINENA) Executive Committee Meeting (ECM), 28-30 December 2002, in Muscat, Oman. ICARDA is a co-sponsor of AARINENA.
    The meeting was inaugurated by H.E. Khalfan Ben Saleh Al-Naibi, Under Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and chaired by Dr Abdel Nabi Fardous, President of AARINENA. Among those present were Dr M. Roozitalab, Vice-President of AARINENA and Chairman of GFAR (Global Forum on Agricultural Research); Dr Mohamed Khalifa, President of Agricultural Research Center, Egypt; Dr Ahmed Nasser Al Bakri, Director of Agriculture Production Research Center, Oman; Dr Taher Azzabi, President of Agricultural Research Center, Libya; Dr Mohamed El Tumzini, FAO representative; Eng. Abdel Aziz Al Harthy, Assistant Director for Agricultural Research, Oman; and Mrs Nisreen Al Shawahneh, AARINENA Secretary.
    The meeting reviewed and discussed the achievements for 2002, and financial report and workplan for 2003. Recommendations of the workshops on Regional Agricultural Information System (RAIS), Postharvest Technologies, and Science and Technology Strategies for Improving Agricultural Productivity and Food Security in Africa were also discussed. The President and Vice-President led an open
H.E. Sheikh Salem Bin Helal Al-Khalili, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries (second from right) met with AARINENA delegates. From left, Dr Taher Azzabi, President of Agricultural Research Center, Libya; Dr Mohamed Khalifa, President of Agricultural Research Center, Egypt; Dr M. Roozitalab, Vice-President of AARINENA and Chairman of GFAR; Dr Mohan Saxena (next to the Minister), Assistant Director General, ICARDA; and H.E. Khalfan Ben Saleh Al-Naibi, Under Secretary (right).
AARINENA delegates with H.E. Khalfan Ben Saleh Al-Naibi (center), Under Secretary. To his right, Dr Abdel Nabi Fardous, President of AARINENA; Dr Mohan Saxena, Assistant Director General, ICARDA; Dr Mohamed Khalifa, President of Agricultural Research Center, Egypt and Dr Ahmed Moustafa, ICARDA-AP Regional Coordinator. To his left, Dr Taher Azzabi, President of Agricultural Research Center, Libya; Dr M. Roozitalab, Vice-President of AARINENA and Chairman of GFAR; Dr Mohamed El Tumzini, FAO representative; Mrs Nisreen Al Shawahneh, AARINENA Secretary; Eng. Khatem Khamis Al Mamari, Director General of Agriculture; and Eng. Abdel Aziz Al Harthy, Assistant Director for Agricultural Research, Oman.
discussion on AARINENA activities, programs and present and future challenges, and reviewed the mechanisms to involve different stakeholders including farmer organizations, NGOs, and private sector in the Association.
    Dr Saxena reviewed the progress of the joint AARINENA-ICARDA agricultural research priority exercise. The meeting recommended to publish the outcome with an elaboration of each major part of the report. The final report will be sent to GFAR.
    During the meeting, a trip was organized to the tissue culture laboratory and the Agriculture Research Center in Nizwa.
     It was recommended to hold the next AARINENA ECM in Yemen sometime in August/September 2003.
    In his closing remarks, Dr Saxena thanked the host country and emphasized ICARDA's full support to AARINENA.
    H.E. Sheikh Salem Bin Helal Al-Khalili, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, met the committee members and FAO and ICARDA representatives in his office. During this courtesy meeting, H.E. the Minister welcomed the group and stressed the important and strong linkages between Oman and research organizations in AARINENA countries. Dr Saxena conveyed the greetings of ICARDA DG, Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, to the Minister and presented a set of important ICARDA publications to him.

ICARDA's (www.icarda.org) mission is to improve the welfare of people and alleviate poverty through research and training in dry areas of the developing world by increasing production, productivity, and nutritional quality of food, while preserving and enhancing the natural resource base. ICARDA is a Future Harvest Center.
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