The Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, affirmed that "the Arab World is interested in strengthening cooperation with the Russian side in the issue of food security, and for this purpose there were prominent meetings early this month between the Union of Arab Chambers and the Arab-Russian Business Council in the Russian capital, Moscow, accordingly, several bilateral agreements were signed aimed at raising the level of Arab-Russian cooperation in the field of food security."

Hanafi's words came during a speech he gave at the opening of the Arab-Russian Economic Forum, which was held through the "video conference" feature, entitled: "Russian-Arab cooperation in the field of food security and trade and investment opportunities", under the joint organization of the Russian-Arab Business Council, the Union of Arab Chambers, and the Russian Ministry of Agriculture.

The forum enjoyed the participation of prominent personalities, experts from Russia and the Arab world, as well as the prominent presence of decision-makers and many relevant business leaders and business partners.

Hanafi stressed that "The forum is being held under exceptional circumstances that the world is going through, and it comes within the framework of continuing tireless efforts that have greatly contributed to creating additional opportunities in favor of strengthening cooperation in various fields between Russia and the Arab world, the Russian-Arab Business Council and the Union of Arab Chambers are keen, through this meeting, to exchange ideas on mechanisms for dealing with the repercussions of the Corona epidemic on food security, in addition to identifying new future cooperation opportunities between Arab and Russian companies to move forward in the service of common development goals.

He said: "Last year, the Arab-Russian exhibition was organized in Moscow, and it had more than 10,000 participants from the Arab World and the Russian Federation, and it is expected that one of the Arab countries will host the exhibition next year, as this exhibition is in the interest of strengthening Arab-Russian cooperation in various fields."

Hanafi stressed, "What is required today, in light of the changes taking place in the world, is to build non-traditional strategic alliances to raise cooperation to a level that is in line with the current circumstances and this requires searching for new working mechanisms, such as building ports and supply lines that contribute to the development of supply chains between the Arab and Russian sides. "

Hanafi pointed out that "The Arab World imports $110 billion annually in consumer and foodstuffs, Russia's share of it is limited, and from this point of view it is imperative to work to raise the size of Russia's share in this field, in order to achieve common interests."

Tatyana Alexandrovna

Director of the Russian-Arab Business Council, Gvilava Tatyana Alexandrovna, gave a welcoming speech in which she praised the convening of the forum and its importance in light of the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, referring to the importance of Arab-Russian relations, and the role that the Arab-Russian Business Council plays in developing relations between the two sides, explaining that "Russia has enormous potentials in the field of food security, it is fully prepared to transfer its technical and technological expertise to the Arab side, which has important financial and natural capabilities that should be used in the right manner."

Jean-Marc Ferry

In his turn, Jean-Marc Ferry, Director of the Regional Program for the Middle East and North Africa at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Egypt), saw that "despite global conditions changed as a result of the "Corona" pandemic, the world was able to overcome the shock of this pandemic at the level of food through supply and supply chains and food production doubled during this period of the pandemic, and the "FAO" is working on delivering food to all parts of the world, especially to poor countries.

He explained that "in the twenty-first century, the world’s population increased, especially the number of the population in the Arab world, and consequently the need for food increased, as the Arab region consumes much more than its food production relying on imports, and this calls for Arab countries to work to increase their food production to reduce their volume of imports, especially in times of crisis," stressing that "the Arab world should adopt new policies and strategies to achieve its food security, by abandoning its dependence on the outside and achieving self-sufficiency," considering that "Russia has extensive experiences in the field of food security, the Arab World should benefit from that experience through consolidating its partnership with Russia on the basis of achieving common interests and mutual benefits."

Lotte Oksana Nikolaevna

For her part, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, Lotte Oksana Nikolaevna pointed out that "Russia and the Arab World share an old friendship and the volume of trade exchange between them has increased over the past decades and years, however, despite the huge capabilities that Russia and the Arab countries possess, economic trade and investment relations need further development to rise to the desired level on both sides.”

She said, "Russia is using very advanced technologies in the field of agriculture and food security, and Russia in the context of expanding its relations with the Arab World has opened in Dubai a huge store, that aimed at transferring its expertise, programs and technologies to Arab countries, and in this context we invite Arab countries to benefit from this megastore to enhance its food security and develop its agricultural sector."

She noted the role that the Arab-Russian Business Council plays in developing economic relations between the two sides, expecting that bilateral relations will develop more and more in the next stage, noting also that “Egypt is an important economic partner to Russia, we hope that it will pass to the rest of the Arab countries with which we share vital common interests."

Ali Almeselhi

As for the Minister of Supply and Internal Trade in the Arab Republic of Egypt, His Excellency Dr. Ali Al-Meselhi pointed to "the importance of food security for Egypt and the Arab World," explaining that "the population of Egypt exceeds 100 million people and therefore the volume of consumption is large," he pointed out that "Egypt is very interested in cooperating with Russia in the field of food security, as well as cooperation in the logistics sector and supply chains," adding that "there is a desire to establish storage areas between Russia and Egypt, in order to achieve great returns and benefits in terms of production, domestic and foreign marketing."

He said, "We also desire to strengthen cooperation with the Russian side in the field of agricultural research, noting that there is close cooperation in this field and we hope that it will develop into strategic alliances by establishing platforms that enhance this cooperation."

Al Turkawi

For his part, the Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources of the Republic of Sudan, His Excellency Eng. Abdul Qadir Turkawi stressed that "The Sudanese government is interested in developing commercial relations and encouraging agricultural investment and partnerships to activate the role of the agricultural sector in comprehensive economic development," he asserted that "Sudan is rich in huge agricultural areas and abundant water, amounting to more than 18 billion cubic meters of water annually, with more than 200 million acres available for agriculture."

He said, "After the glorious December revolution and the upgrading of Sudan's external relations, especially after the name of Sudan was removed from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, the government of Sudan has been active in encouraging and attracting investment opportunities and smart partnerships to contribute to increasing cultivated areas, increasing agricultural exports, and developing the livestock sector. With this, we affirm and welcome the influx of all investments from brotherly and friendly countries seeking to enhance internal and global food security."

He considered that "Sudan with these resources can become the food basket of the World and contribute strongly to solving the problem of food security at the regional and international levels."

Source (Union of Arab Chambers)