D I P L O M AT I C A| DIPLOMATIC AGENDA
UAE: Home to the world’s most sustainable city state for food and 17 per cent in 2020 over 2019 to more than water security. $2 billion, with the UAE continuing to FIR Leading this stand as Canada’s No. 1 trading partner in Al Raqbani ministry, Mariam the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) LAST NAME: bint Mohammed region, with an additional $30 billion of i Emirat CITIZENSHIP: Al Mheiri has de- UAE investment in Canada. OR:: AD SS BA veloped a comUAE agricultural imports from Canada AM NAMED AS prehensive food alone saw a dramatic increase of 42 per 18 20 , Jan. 29 at r security stratcent in 2020 from the year prior, with the se vi ad or BS: Seni PREVIOUS JO egy to achieve UAE importing almost $1 billion from mpany, Co t en m st ve Mubadala In year-round food Canada in this sector. Said in another way, bu eral of the A en -g or ct re di ic self-sufficiency, this means agriculture made up almost om on l for Ec Dhabi Counci i n c re a s e o u r half of the total bilateral trade between our t. Developmen f o o d n u t r i - two countries. tional level, According to the Canola Council of reduce our food waste and Canada, canola seed exports alone from he United Arab Emirates marks its contribute to global food security. Canada to the UAE reached a record of Golden Jubilee this year, and while The COVID-19 pandemic has been an $607.9 million (in 2020) making the UAE we are proud of our many accominvaluable time to take stock of our cur- one of the top five global buyers of Canaplishments over the last 50 years, we have rent food security policies and direction. da’s canola seeds. always had our eye on the future. Even during the height of the pandemic, Likewise, Saskatchewan-UAE total Our country is already home to the we did not experience food shortages, we bilateral trade increased by 65 per cent in world’s most sustainable city, where controlled food prices, and our food dis- 2020 from 2019, also making the UAE Saspeople move around in self-driving pod tribution systems ran extremely smoothly katchewan’s largest trading market in the cars. We’re also building an authentic as a result of our government’s insightful MENA region, largely due to this robust Mars city in our desert — while developpolicies. trade in agriculture. To expand on these aling an actual one on the red planet within While food supply chains may have ready strong relations, the government of 100 years — and already our firefighters been challenged around the world dur- Saskatchewan has announced it will open are using jetpacks and robot surgeons are ing the pandemic, we actually witnessed a trade office in the UAE in the fall of this performing operations. In short, we are flourishing trade relations between the year, with another Canadian province also always looking forward. UAE and Canada. Overall bilateral trade expected to soon follow suit. The roots of our current innovative between our two countries increased by Turning to the transport systems that culture are found within our environment and history. With our harsh desert climate that includes almost no rainfall, a limited supply of fresh water and sparse arable land, we have always had to innovate to survive. From the earliest of times, we sought innovative solutions to gain access to food and water. In fact, more than 3,000 years ago, we developed the world’s earliest underground irrigation system, called “falaj,” and trained falcons to hunt for our food. Today, the UAE enjoys economic and political stability, a strong currency, high, world-class logistics infrastructure and progressive food and water policies. It is also a food-secure country that serves as a global food logistics hub. However, with our growing population — currently at approximately 10 million — our rising consumption needs, which are growing at a 4 per cent annual rate, and the fact that approximately 90 Pure Harvest is a recognized leader in sustainable agriculture, growing year-round, pesticide-free per cent of our food is imported, the UAE fresh fruits and vegetables in the Middle East. established a portfolio of a minister of
. A. had Saeed M ST NAME: Fa
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PURE HARVEST SMART FARM
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