n his recent official visit to Jordan, in December 1996, Director General Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy met H.E. Mr Abdul Karim El Kabariti, the Prime Minister of Jordan, at the Prime Minister's office. The Prime Minister and Prof. Dr El-Beltagy discussed the on-going cooperation between Jordan and ICARDA and its future direction.The meeting was also attended by H.E. Dr Mustafa Shuneikat, Minister of Agriculture, and Dr Nasri Haddad, ICARDA Regional Coordinator for West Asia. ICARDA runs regional activities for West Asia from its Amman office, which was established in 1989.
        The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of research in achieving development objectives, and stressed the Government of Jordan's keen interest in strengthening this area to achieve better agricultural production. He said that ICARDA could play an important role in cooperation with the major institutions in the country, to assist Jordan realize these goals.
        The Director General took the opportunity to thank the Prime Minister for the recent decision to award ICARDA full diplomatic status in Jordan. He also gave an overview of the CGIAR system and of the role the CG centers are playing in agricultural development.
        He emphasized both ICARDA's global mandate and its role in WANA region, and the major achievements of ICARDA in the development of improved cultivars of the major crops, biodiversity conservation, in improvement of sustainable production systems, in irrigation management and in human resource development.  He stressed the region's food needs in the coming 20 years, which could not be met without consolidated efforts by all concerned.
        Dr Haddad gave a briefing on Jordan/ICARDA cooperation and on the on-going activities, which cover  such areas as the development of  sustainable integrated crop/livestock production systems, improvement of cereal

and food-legume crops, water harvesting and management, rangeland policy and property rights, biodiversity and genetic resources, seed production and human resources development.
        The Prime Minister enquired about ICARDA's work on drought-resistant crop varieties, especially for strategic crops like wheat. Prof. El-Beltagy gave a briefing on the ICARDA breeding program on wheat, which is carried out in collaboration with CIMMYT, and its efforts in this direction that bear future promise--especially in the area of biotechnology.
        The discussion then focused on issues relating to water and its critical importance in the WANA region.  The Prime Minister proposed that ICARDA cooperate with Jordan on the use of effluent water and brackish water in irrigation.  Prof. El-Beltagy assured the Prime Minister that  ICARDA would consider this in its future work in Jordan.
        The Prime Minister thanked Prof. El-Beltagy for ICARDA's efforts and cooperation and reiterated Jordan's  interest in strengthening this cooperation.