Director General of IICA receives Minister of Climate Change and Environment of the United Arab Emirates, and invites the Asian nation to join the organization as an observer country

Primera — *Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak, Minister of Climate Change and Environment of the United Arab Emirates; and Manuel Otero, Director General of IICA.*

San José, June 11, 2024 (IICA) – The Minister of Climate Change and Environment of the United Arab Emirates, Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak, visited the Headquarters of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in Costa Rica and met with Director General Manuel Otero, who invited the Asian nation to join the organization as an observer country.

Otero also reaffirmed his support for the creation of the so-called multinational Technical Group to advance the transformation of food systems, promoted by the United Arab Emirates.

The Group’s mission is to analyze how best to tackle the transformation of agriculture and agrifood systems in order to address the challenges posed by climate change and achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.

It also advises countries on the updating of their climate commitments – the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – to ensure they include climate action measures in agriculture.

In the coming months, the Technical Group will begin to respond to questions from the countries, with a view to identifying gaps and opportunities for cooperation.

As president and host of the most recent United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28, held in December in Dubai), the United Arab Emirates promoted the Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action, which 159 countries have signed so far. The document represents a strong commitment to the need to address the interaction between food systems, agriculture and climate as the only possible way to achieve the global objectives of climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Segunda — *During the visit, the Minister and her delegation visited the Interpretative Center for Tomorrow’s Agriculture (CIMAG) and learned about the institute's technological innovations.*

“It is really fantastic that IICA has shown its support for the declaration and the formation of the Technical Group, and also to know that it’s planning to take part in future COPs. Moreover, I wish to acknowledge the work that the Institute is doing to encourage its member countries to transform their agrifood systems so they are more resilient, with the adoption of new technologies,” Minister Al Dahak said.

“We lent our support to the Technical Group and the Declaration because we firmly believe in the transformation of agricultural systems around the world, and especially in the Americas. We’re an institution committed to the wellbeing of farmers and rural territories in the Americas, building bridges with the rest of the world,” Otero emphasized.

In addition to praising the work of IICA, Minister Al Dahak thanked the Director General for his invitation to the United Arab Emirates to join IICA as an observer country.

More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int