ICARDA News

INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN THE DRY AREAS
P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
Phone: (963-21) 2213433, 2213477, 2225112, 2225012
Fax: (963-21) 2213490, 2225105; E-mail: ICARDA@CGIAR.ORG
Website: www.icarda.cgiar.org
12 February 2004
For more information contact:
Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
Western Australia Minister of Agriculture Visits ICARDA
The Director General, Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy (right) received the Western Australia Minister of Agriculture, H.E. Mr Kim Chance and his wife (center), H.E. Mr Robert Newton (left), Australian Ambassador to Syria and Egypt, and other members of the delegation and briefed them on the mandate, mission and research acitivites and achievements of ICARDA.
H.E. Honorable Kim Chance, the Western Australia Minister of Agriculture, led a distinguished Australian delegation that visited ICARDA on 13 January 2004 to familiarize themselves with the research and training activities of the Center. The members of the delegation were Mrs Sue Chance, wife of the Minister; H.E. Mr Robert Newton, Australian Ambassador to Egypt and Syria; Mr Henry Steingiesser, Executive Director, Trade and Development, Department of Agriculture, Western Australia; Ms Sylvie Khoury, Senior Business Development Manager for Lebanon and Syria, Australian Trade Commission, based in Beirut; Mr Nigel Brown, Representative of the Meat and Livestock in Australia, based in Bahrain; and Mr Mike Marren, Media Advisor to the Minister.

The Director General, Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, received the delegation and briefed them on the mandate and work of the Center. He presented examples of achievements made with financial support from Australia and in collaboration with Australian scientists. At a luncheon meeting with the Executive Management of ICARDA, the delegation discussed the emerging trends in international agricultural research and watched the ICARDA video. After lunch, Dr William Erskine, ADG (Research), conducted the delegation on a tour of ICARDA facilities including key research laboratories. The delegation exchanged views with ICARDA scientists on ongoing programs of the Center, and collaboration with Australian agricultural research organizations, particularly CLIMA and other centers and universities.
In his address to the guests at a dinner reception hosted by the Director General in honor of the distinguished delegation from Australia, H.E. Mr Kim Chance (right) praised ICARDA's work and expressed his hope that the collaboration between ICARDA and Australia will further strengthen.
Later, at a reception hosted by the Director General for the delegation at the Sports Club of ICARDA, the Minister thanked ICARDA for the warm hospitality accorded to his delegation. He praised the work being done by ICARDA in the dry areas of the world, and appreciated the benefits derived by the agricultural industry in Australia, particularly in Western Australia, from the genetic material enhanced by ICARDA in collaboration with Australian scientists. He expressed the hope that with the new structural changes in agricultural research setup in Western Australia, and with increased responsibilities being undertaken by the agricultural universities, the opportunities for collaboration between ICARDA and Western Australia will further increase.

The Director General thanked the Minister and his delegation members for taking the time to visit ICARDA, and for their comments on the Center's research programs. He also expressed ICARDA's gratitude to the Australian Government for its continued support to the Center's activities and reiterated the importance of agricultural research in the fight against poverty.

At the reception, the Director General presented an ICARDA plaque to the Minister to keep the memories of his visit to the Center fresh. Also seen in the picture are: H.E. Mr Robert Newton (right), Australian Ambassador to Egypt and Syria, and H.E. Mr Osama Adi (second from right), Governor of Aleppo.


Australian Delegation's Visit to ICARDA Facilities
 
Biotechnology Laboratory
  
Pathology Laboratory
 
 
Animal Nutrition Laboratory
  
Dairy Products Processing Laboratory
 
 
Gene Bank
  
Seed Unit Laboratory

About ICARDA: Established in 1977, ICARDA (www.icarda.cgiar.org) serves the entire developing world for the improvement of barley, lentil, and faba bean; and dry-area developing countries for the on-farm management of water, improvement of nutrition and productivity of small ruminants (sheep and goats), and rehabilitation and management of rangelands. In the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region, ICARDA is responsible for the improvement of durum and bread wheats, chickpea, pasture and forage legumes and farming systems; and for the protection and enhancement of the natural resource base of water, land, and biodiversity.

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) (www.cgiar.org) is a strategic alliance of 62 members and 16 Future Harvest Centers that mobilizes cutting-edge science to promote sustainable development by reducing hunger and poverty, improving human nutrition and health, and protecting the environment.
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