Cairo: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia emphasized the critical need to activate regional and international partnerships to develop innovative solutions for integrating the water and agriculture sectors in the Arab region, essential for enhancing water and food security and supporting the region's sustainable development goals.
According to Saudi Press Agency, this emphasis came during the Kingdom's participation in the third joint Arab Ministerial Meeting for Agriculture and Water, held in Cairo, Egypt, and attended by ministers, deputy ministers from the region, and representatives from relevant regional and international organizations.
Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture for Agriculture Suliman Al-Khateeb detailed Saudi Arabia's success in achieving precise alignment between water policies and national food security plans. This strategic shift has resulted in improved local agricultural production, surpassing 16 million tons, a 7% compound annual growth rate for the sector's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the past five years, a significant 52% reduction in the use of non-renewable water in agriculture, and an estimated 17% increase in the irrigation efficiency index compared to 2016.
Al-Khateeb stressed the need for urgent regional measures to enhance water and food security, including using innovative financing policies to localize modern agricultural technologies, improving irrigation efficiency, and expanding climate-smart agriculture. He also called for strengthening rural economies and empowering women and youth.
He urged joint action to harmonize Arab water and food security risk management through interconnected early warning systems. He called for accelerating the governance of legislation to support Arab agricultural integration, transparent free trade, and environmentally friendly agricultural investments.