Minister of Agriculture: holding the FAO conference in Baghdad is a huge victory

Shafaq News/ The Iraqi Minister of Agriculture, Mohammad al-Khafaji, on Tuesday said that holding the 36th FAO Regional Conference for the Near East (NERC36) in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, is a "huge victory" for Iraq.

Al-Khafaji told Shafaq News Agency, "16 countries dispatched representatives to Baghdad. The representatives of 17 countries participated online."

"Many countries from the Near East and North Africa participated in the conference. It is a huge victory," he added, "the conference touched upon the challenges facing the agricultural sector in the region."

The 36th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for the Near East (NERC 36) was held this year under the theme " Recover and Restart: Innovations for better, greener and more resilient agrifood systems to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”.

This year’s edition of the Conference was held in two segments; the Senior Officers Meeting that already took place from 10 to 13 January 2022 through a virtual modality, while the Ministerial Session that takes place through a hybrid modality on 7 and 8 February 2022.