On Friday 8 September 2023, the Secretary General of the CIHEAM, Mr Teodoro Miano, received the Lebanese Minister of Agriculture, H.E. Abbas Hajj Hassan, who was accompanied by his advisor Mr Salem Darwich.

^{8 September 2023, Paris, France}

The discussions held in rue Newton highlighted the interest of the Minister in closer collaboration with the CIHEAM in the fields of food security and agricultural development, given the particularly difficult situation the country is currently experiencing. The issues of food security, the challenge of socio-economic integration of young people and the effects of climate change in Lebanon were discussed.

The Minister recalled the technical assistance projects implemented by the various CIHEAM institutes. He called for them to be strengthened and duplicated in other regions of the country. He particularly mentioned the importance of the SupMed  project, which supports collective and contextualised strategies for resilient and sustainable agriculture, as well as the development of the soft wheat sector in Lebanon.

They also opened up new avenues for further strengthening training and capacity-building activities for agricultural and rural communities, particularly in terms of employment opportunities for young people. Partnerships with NGOs and local businesses, as well as the mobilisation of the Lebanese diaspora, were identified as levers to be given particular consideration.

The visit also provided an opportunity to discuss ongoing cooperation with the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD), which H.E. Abbas Hajj Hassan chairs since June 2023. The Minister recalled the importance of the CIHEAM in Arab countries and vice versa. He hoped that cooperation with Arab countries could be developed and invited the CIHEAM to get closer to the Arab League, which met at the end of September in Cairo (Egypt) to discuss current agricultural and food issues.