NNA – Caretaker Minister of Agriculture, Abbas Hajj Hassan, affirmed today that food security is the utmost goal of all efforts, since the crisis extent is much greater than anticipated.

Speaking at the quadripartite meeting of agriculture ministers from Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Jordan held in the Jordanian capital, Amman, Hajj Hassan said that food security is threatened by more than one crisis, which requires the existence of paths favoring sustainability and the scientific vision of the interrelations between these countries.

“This prompted us to meet again after the Beirut and Baghdad summits, to confirm that the outcomes of the Beirut summit constitute the first course for building a four-way partnership that we aspire to expand to include all Arab countries,” he indicated.

“Climate change has its weight in what has been and will be agreed upon between us, in addition to the flow of agricultural products and how to invest in the agricultural sector as a priority to advance national economies,” he went on, emphasizing the need for a united Arab partnership of efforts to address this matter and raise the level of food security as a collective goal.

“We count a lot on this meeting in creating a unitary vision that takes into account the partnership between the public and private sectors,” the Agriculture Minister maintained.

Referring to the Lebanon’s prevailing dire conditions, Hajj Hassan affirmed that the Lebanese are at the end of the crisis and will come out of it strong as always. “We are going through a difficult stage, but we are at the end of the road and we will come out soon as strong as we do every time,” he assured, thanking Arab brethrens for their continuous support and assistance to Lebanon.

========R.Sh.