Dr. Jihad Abdullah Al Fadhel, Second Deputy Chairwomen of the Shura Council, has affirmed that the Kingdom of Bahrain, led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, attaches great importance to food security in its national work agenda by implanting a strategic framework to produce food nationally.
Al-Fadhel made the statements while participating virtually in the Global Parliamentary Summit against Hunger and Malnutrition.
The summit aims to exchange skills among parliamentarians in implementing legislation on matters related to food security, discuss priorities to address challenges related to hunger and malnutrition, build relationships among parliamentarians and parliaments, as well as support parliamentary efforts to develop a strong, coherent, and comprehensive legal policy framework to promote improved food security and nutrition more broadly.
She pointed out that achieving food security requires an integrated approach based on cooperation among all stakeholders in the international system, as combating hunger and malnutrition requires collective solutions formulated by countries, parliaments, and relevant international institutions.
Dr. Al Fadhel stressed the need to motivate global collective action in achieving the sustainable development goals of eliminating hunger and malnutrition by 2030, which is important, considering the multiple challenges and crises that have negatively affected all dimensions related to food security.
She recommended that the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and other relevant organisations encourage investment funds to launch projects to invest in the food security fields and connect them with international efforts so that we move into a greener economy because of climate change.
Dr. Al Fadhel stressed the importance of establishing a legislative structure that enhances food security to ensure the localisation of advanced technology for smart agriculture and securing the appropriate needs of fish and livestock in addition to water resources.
She underlined the importance of involving all participants, led by parliaments in the process, to establish permanent multilateral mechanisms for the global food crisis, and find unified partnerships among all geopolitical groups in the international system for the food crisis to pave the way for achieving international solidarity in confronting the global food crisis.
Regarding legislature-executive coordination in Bahrain, Al-Fadhel explained that the legislative branch had agreed to support government initiatives that contributed to Bahrain’s ranking 38th in the Global Food Security Index for the year 2022, stressing that there is an ambitious plan to move to the 25th place in the world by 2030. She noted that the two branches had also agreed to develop national capacities in the food industry, build an infrastructure that simulates future goals, and provide incentives and facilities to attract the private sector to invest in food security.
A national company was also established under the name of the Bahrain Agricultural Development Company, which embraces all food security, fish farming, and agricultural projects in various fields in all Bahraini governorates, she said.
Al Fadhel stated that the Shura Council presented a number of proposals for laws that would contribute to the sustainability of food, in addition to a number of initiatives through other parliamentary platforms, such as proposals to establish an Arab centre for food security and launch an Arab index for food security, among others.
Source: Bahrain News Agency