Desert Research Center, representing the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, participated in the 24th meeting of the Arab Group for Monitoring the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the Convention on Biological Diversity. The meeting, hosted by the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States in Cairo, included representatives from Arab countries and regional and international organizations.
The group, chaired by Egypt, discussed several issues with economic and developmental dimensions, most notably combating drought, restoring degraded lands, financing mechanisms, technology transfer, capacity building, and strengthening Arab cooperation. These efforts aim to support the sustainability of natural resources, improve agricultural productivity, and enhance food security in the Arab region.
This participation was in accordance with the directives of Alaa Farouk, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, and Dr. Hossam Shawky, President of Desert Research Center and National Coordinator for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. Egypt was represented by Dr. Ahmed Abdel-Aty, Executive Coordinator of the Convention, and Dr. Mohamed Youssef, responsible for preparing the Fourth National Report.
The meetings focused on preparing a unified Arab position on the issues to be negotiated during the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP17), scheduled to be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, next August. Dr. Ahmed Abdel-Aty was unanimously elected as the head of the Arab team, that reflects confidence in Egyptian expertise and strengthens Egypt’s role in leading Arab coordination on environmental and sustainable development issues.
