The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) will collaborate with New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) in food security.
UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Ms. Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, and Honorable Damien O’Connor, New Zealand’s Minister of Trade and Export Growth and Minister of Agriculture, signed a Memorandum of Arrangement (MoA) to enhance collaboration in food security, at the New Zealand Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.
The MoA is aligned with the UAE’s strategic approach to advance multilateral and bilateral cooperation in the face of global challenges in a bid to build a sustainable future.
Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri Minister Climate Change & Environment
“The UAE and New Zealand enjoy robust and long-standing trade relations, with bilateral trade seeing an average annual growth of 11 percent in the past decade. Building on our strong ties, we are pleased to join forces with New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to boost food security and streamline supply chains. Under the MoA, we will share best practices and expertise based on high-tech and innovative solutions.”
Meanwhile, Honorable Damien O’Connor remarked that “I’m pleased to be here in the UAE and to sign an MoA on a food security partnership with Ms. Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri. As an agricultural and innovative trading nation, this partnership recognizes our role in supplying high-quality, safe food and beverages to the UAE. Notably, it also identifies opportunities to share knowledge to boost self-sufficiency and collaborate on policy challenges we all face together.”
The MoA covers three areas of cooperation in the food sector which include exchanging knowledge between government agencies with an emphasis on the use of modern technologies and artificial intelligence in agriculture and food production, enhancing mutual food trade, and sharing policies and practices in the sector.
Officials from both Ministries will meet to develop a plan for joint activities and programs aimed to advance the MOA’s cooperative sectors to enhance food security in UAE and New Zealand.
