Muscat: The Agricultural, Fish and Food Investment Forum started today at Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre. The 2-day forum aims at activating the participation of the private sector in agricultural and fisheries investments in the Sultanate and enhancing the role of sustainable development.
The forum is organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. The opening of the forum was patronized by Sayyid Asaad bin Tariq al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs, and the Personal Representative of His Majesty the Sultan.
Sayyid Asaad in a press statement after the opening said that the forum offers many proposals on agricultural, fish and food investment in the Sultanate, pointing out that the statistics and figures on this investment "bode well" and reached a stage through which it can compete at all levels, internationally in particular.
He pointed out that the yield of the agricultural and fish sectors is "on the rise" and that will increase if the agricultural products are protected from pests, indicating that the Sultanate, by virtue of its strategic location owns wide areas for agriculture and long coasts which always qualify as a front for internal and external investments.
He stressed the importance of making use of this location which has made the Sultanate an important and influential link between the different countries of the world.
The Forum is an analysis to assess what has been achieved during the previous periods and to determine what is required to be accomplished during the coming periods based on the Oman Vision 2040 in the field of food security.
Dr Fuad bin Jaafar al Sagwani, the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, presented a working paper entitled "Food Production and Food Security System in the Sultanate: Achievements and Future Plans".
He reviewed the challenges facing food security at the global level and reviewed the performance indicators of food production in the Sultanate and the investment plan for increasing it.
Dr José da Silva, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), stressed the importance of agricultural, fish and food investment and the importance of sustainable development and conservation of natural resources.
The forum comes within the framework of the orientations of the Sultanate's government to expand partnership with the private sector in investment and reviews initiatives, success stories and investment opportunities and its role in activating food investments in support of food security.
It also reviews the global technological developments and how to benefit from them in maximizing economic returns.
The forum will be attended by the public and private sectors, experts, researchers, interested parties and other partners who will discuss the reality and prospects of supporting investment in food security in the Sultanate.
The forum will include working papers on the importance of highlighting the initiatives and success stories and its role in activating investments and all related to keeping up with the latest global technologies and benefiting from them in increasing productivity.
It will review the challenges facing investment in the agricultural, fisheries and food sectors, and presents the outputs of the agricultural and fish investment committee at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
Sayyid Asaad bin Tariq al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs and Personal Representative of His Majesty the Sultan, honoured the sponsors of the forum.
The opening of the forum was attended by a number of their highnesses, Ministers, members of the State Council, members of Majlis A'Shura, and ambassadors accredited to the Sultanate. --ONA
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