Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), a UAE-based philanthropic foundation, and the World Economic Forum (WEF) have signed an agreement to collaborate in the creation of the Global Platform for Food Innovation Hubs, at the WEF Annual Meeting 2022 at Davos.
WEF launched the Food Innovation Hubs initiatives to strengthen local innovation ecosystems to facilitate food system transformation, and this new international platform will contribute to focusing and accelerating the scope of innovation to improve sustainable food production mechanisms around the world.
The agreement, which paves the way for three-year cooperation, was signed by His Excellency Saeed Al Eter, Assistant Secretary-General of the MBRGI, and Mr. Sean De Cleene, member of the Executive Committee of the WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, in the presence of a number of officials from both sides.
The new Global Platform for Food Innovation Hubs aims to improve international food science and research cooperation, exchange of knowledge, experiences, and data to build local food production systems, and support national and global policies to achieve and enhance food security. As a result, it will benefit the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, especially the second goal of eradicating hunger.
The agreement confirms Dubai as the international headquarters for the annual meeting of the Food Innovation Hubs. It also stipulates that MBRGI will also join the Supervisory Board of the Food Systems Initiative and the Steering Committee of WEF’s Food Innovation Hubs.
His Excellency Mohammad Al Gergawi Secretary General – MBRGI
“In line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, MBRGI is one of the largest institutions, regionally and globally, to battle hunger and malnutrition, and provide less fortunate communities with food support.”
Her Excellency Mariam Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said that “In 2018, the UAE announced the National Food Security Strategy 2051 to develop a comprehensive national ecosystem that enables sustainable food production using smart technology across the value chain and enhancing initiatives that utilize research and development capabilities.”
“International cooperation is key to determining food requirements of countries and communities for the coming years and decades, and the ideal direction to accelerate the application of research results, studies, innovations and promising technologies in various fields of food production, especially in a manner that meets the demand for sustainable economic development and food security, while also preserving water and environmental resources,” HE Almheiri added.
Mr. Sean De Cleene said that “Through the global network of Food Innovation Hubs, we seek to build a strong country and regional innovation ecosystems for the food systems to facilitate partnerships between farmers, innovators, financiers, governments, private sector and others to accelerate and expand innovations, investments and collaboration towards positive transformations in safeguarding people and the planet.”
