Abu Dhabi: Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Head of the International Affairs Office at the Presidential Court, led the UAE delegation to the 20th CGIAR System Council meeting (SC20) held on June 12-13, 2024, in Brasília, Brazil.
Since formally joining the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), a global partnership that brings together international organizations engaged in research about agriculture, food security, resilience, and climate adaptation, this was the UAE’s first time attending Council meetings.
According to Mariam Almheiri, the UAE’s choice to actively participate in the CGIAR System Council demonstrates its steadfast dedication to guaranteeing long-term food security for an expanding world population in the face of unparalleled climate challenges.
The UAE is a strong believer that achieving global food security requires international cooperation, the statement reads. Our attendance at the CGIAR System Council Meeting served as evidence of our commitment to funding studies that would enable people to adapt to the demands of climate change and change food systems.
Almheiri continued, “The UAE recognizes the crucial role that agricultural research plays in developing innovative solutions that empower countries to adapt to the realities of a changing climate. We are confident that our new partnership with CGIAR will yield significant advancements in agricultural productivity and resilience.”
Following the introduction of a new relationship between the UAE and the Gates Foundation during COP28 in Dubai last year, the UAE is participating in the CGIAR System Council Meeting.
The main objective of the collaboration is to pool resources to fund projects that would hasten the advancement of agricultural technologies and research that will assist smallholder farmers in strengthening their resilience and preparing for climate change. The partners jointly committed an additional $200 million to address both the short- and long-term risks that climate change poses to nutrition and food security.
The CGIAR System Council, which is the system’s strategic decision-making body, examines the overall strategy, mission, distribution of resources, impact, and sustainability of the system.
To make sure that the CGIAR successfully carries out its mandate to generate research ideas across a number of domains in the agricultural sector, the Council meets in person twice a year. As a result, our research directly advances the goal of a future free from hunger by encouraging creativity and information exchange across diverse stakeholders.
Concurrently, Almheiri was present at a reception hosted by the UAE Embassy in the Federative Republic of Brazil in honor of the 50th anniversary of the two nations’ diplomatic relations, along with Saleh Al Suwaidi, the UAE Ambassador to Brazil.