Through its national food security strategy, Qatar managed to overcome threats, challenges and adverse effects of the blockade and ensure sustainable provision of food, medicines and raw materials in a short period of time, he added.
In a speech before the 40th Session of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) conference being held in Rome, the Minister said Qatar is facing an unjust blockade as well as unfair and illegitimate measures taken by the siege countries to prevent the arrival of food supplies and cut off the supply of food and medicines, noting that all these unilateral actions jeopardise food security in the entire region.
He stressed that the measures taken against Qatar by the siege countries represent a clear and flagrant violation of the rules of international law, particularly the UN Charter and the foundations of international human rights law, the Charter of the Arab League and the Statute of the Gulf Co-operation Council.
He pointed out that it is clear that the wider range of actions adopted by the siege countries aimed at obstructing and disrupting growth and construction efforts in Qatar and threatening the lives of thousands of residents and people working in Qatar as well as disrupting its national strategy that aims to achieve its food security, pointing out that think tank centres ranked Qatar in the first position among countries of the Near East group and 20th among the countries of the world.
The Minister thanked all countries and organisations that withstood the pressure to participate in this siege.
He called on the FAO and its 40th Conference to condemn in its final communique and report the unjust siege imposed by some countries in the region on Qatar, as well as to call on these countries to lift it because of its serious adverse impact on food security in the region and global food security.
This stems from the "Food for Peace" initiative announced by the director general of the organisation during the Regional Ministerial Conference for the Near East last year, in which he called for all efforts to assist countries affected by crisis as well as from the 1996 World Food Summit and the relevant UN conventions, the Minister of Municipality and Environment said, calling on the FAO and its conference to condemn the unjust siege imposed by some countries in the region.
The Minister also called on the FAO to exert all efforts to lift the unjust blockade imposed on Qatar, saying 'the efforts we demand the FAO to take are part of its mission and its principal function because they relate to food security', stressing that the right to food is one of the basic human rights principles which serve as a basis for international security and peace.
Through this forum, the State of Qatar calls on the FAO and all its Member States to work hard and jointly to address all serious challenges caused by climate change and its severe impact on the shortage and scarcity of water resources, causing severe adverse effects on food crops production, livestock, fisheries and farmland, and threatening global security as well as adding huge new numbers of refugees and displaced people suffering from poverty, hunger and undernutrition.
He commended the efforts and leading role of the FAO and its fruitful cooperation with Member States with a view to achieving sustainable development in order to attain one of the main goals of the third millennium: the eradication of poverty, hunger and undernutrition and achieve global food security as a common goal.
On the sidelines of the conference, HE Minister of Municipality and Environment Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Rumaihi met with ministers and senior officials participating in this conference from several countries as well as officials of the FAO, including the Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries of the Republic of Tunisia, Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs of the State of Kuwait and a number of FAO officials in the presence of HE Abdulaziz bin Ahmed Al Malki, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Italy and its Permanent Representative to the United Nations agencies in Rome.
During these meetings, the two sides discussed areas of cooperation between the State of Qatar and these countries in the agricultural and environmental fields along with the most important topics on the agenda of the conference.
