Central Asian security and cooperation forum discusses the IOFS mandate in Afghanistan

The Director General of the Islamic Organization for Food Security, HE Prof. Yerlan Baidaulet was invited to join vital discussions on Asia in the Changing World : Agenda for the Future, at the Central Asian Security and Cooperation Forum (CAF) hosted in Astana, Kazakhstan on 14 July 2023. The Forum, launched by the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies (KazISS) under the President of Kazakhstan and co-organized with the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs, brought together scholars from 25 different countries in the region.

During the Panel Session on : Asia’s Global Security: Future Perspectives, the Director General delivered his remarks on the matter from food security and agricultural development perspectives.

“If we were to discuss the relationship between food security and global security, I would propose the following:
– Conflict and Stability: Food insecurity can contribute to social and political instability, leading to conflicts and tensions within and between nations. Inadequate access to food resources or unequal distribution of food can exacerbate existing grievances, potentially leading to social unrest or even armed conflict.
-Economic Development: A region with stable food production and availability can provide a foundation for sustained economic growth. Economic development, in turn, contributes to overall regional security by reducing poverty, inequality, and social unrest.
-Climate Change and Environmental Security: Mitigating and adapting to climate change is crucial for ensuring long-term food security and preventing potential conflicts over scarce resources.
-Trade and Cooperation: Collaboration on research, technology transfer, and best practices sharing can contribute to sustainable agriculture and food production.
-Humanitarian Concerns: Addressing food security concerns in Asia requires attention to vulnerable populations, such as refugees, displaced persons, and marginalized communities. The IOFS is implementing Afghanistan Food Security Program (AFSP), which has been done through water cleaning project in 2022, and wheat distribution in 2023.”

The Director General continued by highlighting the AFSP global mandate of the IOFS and provided a detailed description of the acitivities and plans of the organization in the implementation of the program.

To note, IOFS calls on all partners in the region to coordinate and adopt comprehensive strategies that focus on sustainable agricultural practices, climate change adaptation, poverty reduction, trade facilitation, and regional cooperation to promote stability and economic development. In this context, the IOFS confirms that all challenges posed by conflicts and insecurity for the food systems in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation ( OIC ) Member States could efficiently be implemented within the framework of the five pillars of the IOFS 2031 Strategic Vision.

iofs.org.kz