Sudan stresses the importance of coordination between IGAD countries to prevent drought

The Director General of International Relations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Dr. Fatima Mohamed Rahma, the importance of periodic performance review meetings and follow-up to the implementation of the IGAD drought resilience and sustainability initiative at the country and regional levels, calling for the sharing of lessons learned among member states and the importance of using different ways to achieve the initiative’s objectives.

This came when it chaired the opening session of the fourteenth meeting of the Committee to conduct the IGAD drought resilience and sustainability initiative, which was opened today in Addis Ababa with the participation of the Executive Secretary of IGAD and the Minister of State of the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, as well as representatives of IGAD States and partners.

She called on the Chair to focus more on the issues of climate change, food security, floods and economic crisis that had affected livelihoods, especially at the community level, noting the importance of leveraging Sudan’s potential through joint coordination at the national and regional levels, optimizing resources for the benefit of the region and achieving the objectives of the initiative, as well as sharing experiences and knowledge among Member States.

In conclusion, Dr. Fatima thanked the IGAD secretariat and the Ethiopian Government for organizing the meeting in the hope of coming up with recommendations that contribute to the achievement of the initiative’s objectives.

It should be noted that the Sudan, in its capacity as President of the current session of IQAD, participated in a delegation that included the country’s coordinator for drought prevention initiative, Professor Nur Abdallah. d. Manal Awad, secretariat of the Initiative’s Committee of Experts, and Babakar Hassan Adam, the focal point of the Initiative.