Cairo, The Arab Parliament on Saturday endorsed a proposal submitted by Lower House Speaker Ahmad Safadi, stipulating the establishment of a regional center for food security in Jordan, based on the idea put forward by His Majesty King Abdullah, given that the Kingdom constitutes a meeting point between Africa, Asia and Europe.
Speaking to the Arab Parliament fifth conference on Saturday, Safadi said Jordan can facilitate and coordinate Arab and international action, and the proposed center would accelerate and enhance the global response to food crises and disasters.
This idea, Safadi added, was welcomed and supported by the United Nations, after the Kingdom adopted the new national strategy for food security, describing it as a “milestone” towards ensuring the transition to sustainable food systems.
“The food security issue was present on the His Majesty’s agenda on many occasions. He presented a holistic vision to address this challenge that goes beyond our region, to the whole world. The first steps on the road to facing these challenges, according to His Majesty’s vision, were to build effective regional cooperation capable of bringing about real change in the issues of food and water security, which requires building joint cooperation networks. Accordingly, Jordan established multilateral partnerships with its brothers in the Arab region,” Safadi explained in his speech.
“Jordan is almost one of the poorest countries in the world in terms of water resources, but despite that, it tries to create opportunities out of challenges. Water resources scarcity requires us to adopt the optimal exploitation of water resources. We have a comprehensive agricultural plan and a national strategy for food security that His Majesty follows up on, through which we seek to achieve food security by 2023,” Safadi added.
“Also, the food security issue has been a top priority for His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah II. During the Arab summit that was held in Algeria about three months ago, the Crown Prince called for the start of integrated Arab action and benefiting from our Arab world capabilities, since its challenges and opportunities are common, which requires building on the strengths of every Arab country, to become a strength for all of our countries, by leveraging available capabilities in trade, investment, industry, tourism and agriculture fields, to achieve food security and enhance water and energy sources,” Safadi further added.
On the Hashemite Custodianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, Safadi said: “Jerusalem for the Hashemites and all Jordanians is not only a political issue, but also an issue of existence. Throughout my life, including 16 years in parliament, I have not heard a speech by His Majesty the King without talking about Jerusalem in all international forums, as well as His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II”.
In his speech, Safadi had offered his condolences over victims of the Turkiye–Syria earthquakes and presented a proposal to establish a fund under the supervision of the Arab Parliament, to collect donations, aid and aid for the families of the victims and the injured.
Safadi stressed the importance of supporting Egypt and Sudan in protecting their rights in Ethiopia’s Al-Nahda Dam issue, as well as supporting Iraq’s efforts to protect its interests and achieve the aspirations of its people, as Iraq’s security and stability are a pillar for the security and stability of the region, calling on heads of Arab parliaments to go to Baghdad at the end of this month to participate in the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union conference.
Also, Safadi underscored the importance of supporting Libya and Yemen, and voiced rejection of all forms of external interference in their affairs, and supporting them in their endeavors and efforts towards preserving their territorial integrity and sovereignty over their entire national soil.
He added that Arab Gulf countries security is an integral part of the security of Jordan, and Jordan supports all their measures in defending their borders and lands and the safety of their citizens.
“We are proud of the level of our ties with all brothers in the Arab Gulf, and every country has great and appreciated contributions and stances throughout the Arab world,” Safadi concluded.
Source: Jordan News Agency