The Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) held the 8th meeting with the Arab delegations during the 14th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, on Tuesday the 27th of November 2018, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, with the participation of the Arab delegations.

The meeting was with H.E Mrs. AkristanaAbaskaAbla Mir, the Executive Secretary of the Convention, who joined the Arab Group during their daily coordination meeting.

 After welcoming the Executive Lady on behalf of Arab delegations, Dr. Mostafa Foda, Head of the Egyptian Delegation, recalled the efforts made by the Arab Group during this Conference and its internal and external formats to facilitate negotiations and reach consensus on the topics under negotiation. He then mentioned the most important topics that the group wished to present to the Executive Secretary, which were previously requested by the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD). It concerns the use of the Arabic language in the agreement and the designation of a coordinator at the secretarial level, as well as to facilitate the meetings of the Arab Group on International Environmental Conventions, which was established by the Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment, in addition to intensifying cooperation between the Secretariat and the specialized Arab organizations, and giving priority to the Arab countries in capacity building programs carried out by the Secretariat. AOAD representative conveyed the greetings of His Excellency Professor Ibrahim Adam El Dukheri, AOAD Director General, and mentioned the steps of cooperation currently underway between the Secretariat and AOAD, which will be concludedby the signing of a Framework Agreement for Cooperation in March 2019, and on AOAD’s work map over the next two years to support its member countries in the field of biological diversity.

The Executive Secretary expressed her happiness forbeingpresent among the Arab delegations in this meeting, which clearly showed that the Arab Group has become an active and organized partner.

The delegations of the Arab countries had previously attended an important side event organized by the delegation of Saudi Arabia. A valuable demonstration was received by the attendees through the comprehensive presentation of this innovative and effective approach to the prevention of land degradation applied by the Arabs.

AOAD representative stressed the importance of this approach, pointing out that AOAD has set a goal to support Arab countries in the area ofneutralizing land degradation.