New York, Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen Alfadley, Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and incoming President of UNCCD COP16, today welcomed some of the world's leading experts and policy makers on land degradation, drought and desertification to the first Advisory Council meeting of the forthcoming Presidency of the UNCCD COP16. The key meeting comes as Saudi Arabia prepares to host the UNCCD COP16 in December. According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) provided key insight to the Advisory Council members which include Tarja Halonen, former President of the Republic of Finland; Iván Duque Márquez, former President of the Republic of Colombia; Carlos Alvarado Quesada, former President of the Republic of Costa Rica; Chadian environmental activist and coordinator of the Association of Peul Women and Autochthonous Peoples of Chad, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim; and Nasser Baker Al Kahta ni, Executive Director of the Arab Gulf Program for Development. Also on the Council but unable to attend today's meeting were Macky Sall, former President of the Republic of Senegal; Nadya Obeid, Executive Director of the Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe, and; André Hoffmann, Vice Chairman of Roche Holding. Saudi Arabia's participants also included Adel Al Jubeir, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Cabinet Member, and Climate Affairs Envoy, and Dr. Osama Ibrahim Faqeeha, Deputy Minister of environment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Advisor to president of UNCCD COP16. In the meeting, Council members discussed the critical value of land to the health of people and the planet, and what is needed to transform awareness around the issue of land degradation, desertification and drought and their devastating economic, social and environmental impacts. Source: Bahrain News Agency
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