ammonnews.net

Ammon News - Minister of Agriculture, Khaled Hneifat, on Thursday took part in the meetings of the Agriculture Quartet Summit, which is currently being held in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, with the participation of Syrian, Iraqi and Lebanese counterparts.

The summit, which was held under auspices of Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, aims to promote and develop trade and agricultural exchange, and overcome obstacles related to inter-state agricultural and veterinary quarantine procedures, as well as transportation and transit measures in place.

During the inaugural ceremony, Hneifat pointed to to the "protracted" challenges and crises facing the region, which led to a clear disruption in joint cooperation.

Hneifat also stressed the need to build bridges of trust and resume cooperation in dealing with crises to overcome climate change impacts and achieve food security by collaborating on the supply chains channels, which would deliver food and achieve a positive impact on the agricultural sector in the Arab countries.

The minister referred to Jordan's expertise in creating an "effective" partnership with Palestine, which embodies support needed to the Palestinian and Jordanian farmer, adding that a Jordanian-Palestinian company was established to market agricultural products.

In this regard, he pointed to Jordan's resolve to overcome challenges facing this partnership's success, hoping to expand the base of work to include neighboring Arab countries.

Hneifat hoped the summit's axes would achieve Jordan's goals related to agricultural and veterinary quarantine procedures, transportation and transit measures, and launch of joint projects in cooperation with international organizations concerned with the agricultural field.

Hneifat also hoped the summit would simplify procedures to register agricultural and veterinary production inputs, such as fertilizers, pesticides, seeds and veterinary vaccines and feed additives.

On the meeting's outcomes, he hoped Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon will sign a joint cooperation agreement in the agricultural field, which would promote commodity exchange between the four countries to serve mutual interests.

In addition, the minister called on adopting effective executive programs to exchange expertise and build capacities in the participating countries.

Voicing the Kingdom's continued openness to Arab countries, he affirmed Jordan's readiness to cooperate in many agricultural fields, transfer advanced technology and share scientific innovation.

Jordan, he said, is also ready to support Arab countries to overcome burdens triggered by regional and international conflicts, to achieve food and agricultural integration at the pan-Arab level.