Within the context of its Project on Promoting Food and Water Security in the Arab Region, ESCWA in collaboration with FAO Regional Office for Near East and North Africa (FAO-RNE) organized a consultation meeting to discuss the geographic coverage of Component I of the project. Component I aims to strengthen regional capacity to assess the impacts of changing water availability on agricultural production in the Arab region. The project is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency – Sida.

The meeting, which was held at FAO-RNE premises in Cairo, brought together members of the project coordination committee, as well as researchers from  academic institutions from the region. It analysed and assessed the criteria, requirements and risk factors associated with the selection of the countries to be included in the project. Based on the 2-day discussions an initial group of countries were identified and will be subsequently invited to be part of activities under Component I.