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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 Website: www.icarda.org
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Media contact: Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
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Strengthening
Collaboration with Syria and Lebanon
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| On 14 June
2006, Dr Mahmoud Solh, Director General, made a courtesy call on H.E.
Prof. Dr Adel Safar, Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform,
and then on H.E. Dr Abdullah Dardari, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic
Affairs and Head of the State Planning Commission, Syria. Dr Solh
expressed his great appreciation to both of them for the continued
support of the government of Syria to ICARDA. He thanked them for
the participation of the Syrian national program in the Center's research
activities. He said ICARDA's research is aimed at increasing food
production, alleviating poverty, and protecting the natural resource
base in the dry areas. He highlighted some of the key achievements
of the Syria/ICARDA collaborative program in research and human resource
development, and plans for the future. Dr Solh said the 2006 annual meeting of the Syria/ICARDA collaborative program would be held at ICARDA in September. He invited Prof. Dr Safar to be the patron on the occasion. He informed the ministers that ICARDA would be celebrating its 30th Anniversary in April 2007, and invited them to participate in the ceremonies. He also informed them of ICARDA's plan to hold a planning workshop on poverty mapping in Syria soon. Dr Solh used the opportunity to call on the private sector to invest in seed production in Syria to make seed of improved crop varieties readily available to farmers. H.E. Dr Safar and H.E. Dr Dardari both congratulated Dr Solh on his appointment as Director General of ICARDA. They reiterated their support and that of the government of Syria to the Center. They were delighted with the achievements of the Syria/ICARDA collaborative program and its contribution to the improvement of agriculture in the dry areas. H.E. Dr Safar said Syria has made a five-year development plan and invited ICARDA to be a partner in implementing some of its components, particularly poverty mapping. Dr Ahmed El-Ahmed, ICARDA ADG (Government Liaison); Dr Majd Jamal, DG, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research, and a member of ICARDA Board of Trustees; Ms Daram Hakki, Director, International Cooperation in the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform; and Mr Nader Shiekh Ali, Director, International Cooperation, State Planning Commission accompanied Dr Solh for the visit. Similarly, Dr Mahmoud Solh visited Lebanon on 6 June 2006 and made courtesy calls on the Prime Minister, H.E. Mr Fouad El-Saniora; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mr Fawzi Salloukh; and the Minister of Agriculture, H.E. Mr Talal El-Sahili. He briefed them on ICARDA's association with Lebanon since its inception, and its collaboration with the country in agricultural research and development. He highlighted some of the key achievements of the collaboration and emphasized the need to strengthen it. He identified issues to be addressed in promoting the partnership. The Prime Minister and the Ministers appreciated Dr Solh's visit and the update he provided on the ICARDA-Lebanon collaborative activities. They assured him of the Lebanese government's continued support to ICARDA. The meetings were successful in paving the way for more efficient communication between the government of Lebanon and ICARDA. Among those present at the meetings were: Dr Michel Afram, Representative of the Lebanese Government on ICARDA Board of Trustees and Director General of the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute; Dr Mouin Hamzeh, General Secretary of the National Council for Scientific Research, and a former Board member of ICARDA; H.E. Mr Antoine Chedid, In-Charge of International Cooperation; H.E. Ambassador Mustafa Mustafa, Director of Protocols; Dr Wael Tabbarah, ICARDA Legal Consultant; and Mr Anwar Agha, Executive Manager of ICARDA Beirut Office. |
About
ICARDA: Established in 1977, ICARDA (www.icarda.org)
serves the entire developing world for the improvement of barley, lentil,
and faba bean; and dry-area developing countries for the on-farm management
of water, improvement of nutrition and productivity of small ruminants
(sheep and goats), and rehabilitation and management of rangelands. In
the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region, ICARDA is responsible
for the improvement of durum and bread wheats, chickpea, pasture and forage
legumes and farming systems; and for the protection and enhancement of
the natural resource base of water, land, and biodiversity.
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) (www.cgiar.org) is a strategic alliance of countries, international and regional organizations, and private foundations supporting15 international research centers that mobilizes cutting-edge science to promote sustainable development by reducing hunger and poverty, improving human nutrition and health, and protecting the environment.