D-8 countries should pace up efforts to ensure food security: Isiaka Abdulqadir.

FAISALABAD -- D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation Secretary General Ambassador Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam has said that D-8 countries should enhance their collaboration and pace up efforts to ensure food and nutrition security in the situation when climate changes are playing havoc with the lives and agriculture sector.

He addressed the inaugural session of a two-day international conference on food security challenges and opportunities in D-8 countries arranged by Center for Advanced Studies (CAS) D-8 Research Centre, University of Agriculture Faisalabad as chief guest.

He along with UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Pakistan Academy of Sciences President Dr Kallid Mehmood, FAO representative Florence Rolle, Dean Faculty of Agriculture Dr. Muhammad Sarwar Khan, CAS Director Dr Sultan Habib Ullah and others inaugurated CAS as D-8 Center for Agriculture and Food Security.

He said that they are committed to strengthen economic cooperation among member countries to boost economic growth, sustainable uplift and promote well-being of the people. They have focused on priority areas including agriculture, trade, transportation, industry, energy and tourism whereas health, ICT and human development also added. D-8 countries in total account for almost 4 trillion dollars of GDP, 1.6 trillion dollars of export and 110 billion dollars of intra-trade. But the real novelty of D-8 is that it is home to 1.1 billion people, meaning one in every seven people in the world is living in D-8, he said and added that this comes with remarkable cultural diversity, economic strengths, natural resources, creativity and innovation, and big opportunities for the future generations.

He lauded the efforts of UAF for the uplift of the agriculture sector.

UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar...