Webinar on “Food Security in the Arab Region for the Post-Pandemic Era” held on 18 November 2021

The webinar on “Food Security in the Arab Region for the Post-Pandemic Era” was held online on Thursday, 18 November 2021 from 4 pm (KST) via Zoom. This webinar was co-hosted by Korea-Arab Society (KAS) with Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Korea.

Under the theme of “Food Security in the Arab Region for the Post-Pandemic Era,” the first session on “Food Security in the Arab Region,” and the second session on “The Future of Food Security: Technology Innovation and Cooperation” were held with Korean and foreign Arab experts and Korean business people to share knowledge and opinions.

The opening session began with the opening remarks of  Korea-Arab Society Secretary-General H.E. MA Young-sam. Welcoming remarks by H.E. Bader Mohammad AL-AWADI, Dean of the Arab Diplomatic Corps in Korea and Ambassador of Kuwait to Korea followed. Congratulatory remarks were made by H.E. Abdulla Saif AL NUAIMI, Ambassador of the UAE to Korea and the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Representative and Head of Public Liaison Office in Korea, Mr. Shengyao TANG.

The first speaker in session 1, Mr. Essa AL HASHMI (Head of Food and Water Security Office, The UAE Prime Minister’s Office) introduced that “food security reinforcement measures in the UAE consist of strategies such as investment, technology adoption, policy implementation, human capacity building, and public awareness change.” The second speaker Dr. KANG Munsu (Research Fellow, Africa and Middle East Team, Korea Institute for International Economic Policy) emphasized that “in the aftermath of the climate change crisis and pandemic, the MENA region should focus on securing technological competitiveness to reduce food dependence.” The third speaker, Dr. Chahir ZAKI (Professor of Economics at Cairo University in Egypt) suggested that “improvement of trade policies through tariff correction, removal of non-tariff barriers, streamlining of bureaucracy, and improvement of infrastructure quality can contribute to increasing food security in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Ms. Marian YUN (Director of Seoul Global Office, UN World Food Programme) said that “we are trying to solve food insecurity in the Arab region by responding to natural disasters and climate change based on strengthening the national system by inducing community cooperation and securing a social safety net.”

In session 2, Ms. Yuko IDO (Research Fellow at Japan Institute of International Affairs) stated that “it is necessary to strengthen cooperation and promote related policies to tackle the common challenges in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) such as the significant vulnerability to climate change, high dependence on food imports, and chronic water shortages.” On behalf of Korean companies with advanced technologies, Mr. HAN Seungsoo (CSO of N.THING) introduced “modular vertical farm,” Mr. JANG Jae Wook (Executive Director of SHINHAN A-TEC Co., Ltd) introduced “Korean-type smart farm and greenhouse system,” and Mr. IM Louis (CEO of MIMI CHUNGA RANG) introduced “mushroom farming in the Arab region.”

Korea-Arab Society (KAS) would like to thank the speakers and participants for their valuable time and ask for your continued interest so that this webinar can contribute to resolving food security issues in the Arab region and promoting cooperation between regions and countries.