July 1, 2021
- The 12th meeting of agriculture ministers of the CIHEAM member states scheduled for spring 2022 in Morocco will coincide with the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the CIHEAM
- Prof. Lamia Ghaouti (IAV Hassan II, Morocco): New President of the CIHEAM Advisory Board
The CIHEAM Governing Board met on Thursday, July 1, 2021, for its 147th session under the chairmanship of Prof. Mohammed SADIKI, by videoconference from Rabat (Morocco). Before starting discussions on the CIHEAM activities conduct and on the ongoing accreditation procedure for delegated cooperation with the European Commission, President Sadiki welcomed the members of the board and then congratulated the new President of the CIHEAM Advisory Board, Mrs Lamia Ghaouti, lecturer researcher at the Agronomic and Veterinary Institute Hassan II (Morocco). He also warmly thanked Mr Pascal Bergeret, Director of the CIHEAM Montpellier Institute (France), whose excellent mandate will end on September 1, 2021.
This 147th meeting of the Governing Board was also the occasion to announce that the 12th meeting of the ministers of agriculture of the CIHEAM member states will be held in Morocco in spring 2022 and will coincide with the celebration of 60 years of the CIHEAM.
PR. LAMIA GHAOUTI: NEW PRESIDENT OF THE ADVISORY BOARD
Prof. Lamiae Ghaouti is in charge of the Department of Cooperation, Partnership and Development at the Agronomic and Veterinary Institute Hassan II (IAV Hassan II, Rabat, Morocco). She also holds the position of Head of the Department of Plant Production, Protection and Biotechnology where she has been teaching since 2011. She completed her PhD in Agronomy, Specializing in Plant Genetic Improvement at Georg-August Göttingen University in Germany, where she completed her PhD in Agronomy and received the Kurt von Rümker Prize in Quedlinburg in 2009. Since 2019, she has been a member of the Advisory Board, the scientific council for the CIHEAM.
Ms. Ghaouti was unanimously appointed president by the members of the board. In addition to the organization of the thesis prize, the CIHEAM Advisory Board supports the main strategic orientations of the Organization such as the initiatives of the corporate working groups, the policies of Social and Environmental Responsibility as well as in terms of publications.
CONTINUITY OF SERVICES AND FUTURE PROJECTIONS
The President of the Governing Board and the delegations of the Member States welcomed the mobilization of the Secretary-General and the Directors of the institutes to ensure as far as possible the continuity and efficiency of services despite the pandemic. They congratulated them on the successful implementation of the COVID19 prevention and risk management plans to provide maximum protection for students, staff and visitors.
The President recalled the importance of ongoing projects for the empowerment and socio-economic inclusion of youth and women, sustainable food systems and management of coastal areas and fisheries which are more than ever strategic and which are among the priorities of the Mediterranean States.
As such, he praised the holding of the two Mediterranean dialogues in the perspective of the 2021 United Nations Summit on Food Systems, the many partnerships at work with the FAO, the PRIMA Foundation, the UfM, or the OECD MENA. He also insisted on the importance of the steps taken by the CIHEAM to become a delegated operator of the European Commission. All of these promising dynamics will be consecrated in 2022 by new projects, events and conferences that will sequence a year of celebration for the 60 years of the CIHEAM.
The President's last words were for the actors of the rural and agricultural world in the Mediterranean region. On the front line of the effects of the COVID 19 crisis, they have not only been able to adapt to new constraints but above all have demonstrated ingenuity and innovation to ensure the continuity of supply to markets with food products and to maintain sectors activities essential to food security and territorial prosperity.