He pointed out that the conference is being held at a time when the map of agricultural trade is rapidly changing, competition is increasing, and the requirements for quality, safety, traceability, and sustainability are increasing, confirming that export success is no longer based solely on increasing production, but on the ability to offer a competitive product with reliable quality, continuity of supply, and efficiency in transportation and marketing.
He added that the Mashreq Arab region has important components for agricultural integration, from the diversity of climate, seasons, and crops to the geographical location that links production areas with Gulf, European, and international markets, explaining that the integration that the countries of the region aspire to means linking production with manufacturing, farms with exporters, exporters with buyers, production with storage and cooling, and crossings and ports with supply chains.
Al-Khraissat confirmed that exports cannot be developed in isolation from food security, and that a successful agricultural policy is one that achieves a balance between providing food for citizens, achieving a fair return for farmers, enhancing product competitiveness, and opening markets to exports, stressing the need to move from exporting the product to exporting value through food processing, sorting, packaging, storage, cooling, tracking, and trademarks.
He expressed his aspiration for the conference to be a starting point for a practical and sustainable path of information exchange, linking producers with buyers, identifying investment and export opportunities, addressing logistical and regulatory challenges, and building new partnerships, confirming the Ministry's continued support for farmers, producers, and exporters, diversifying markets, and attracting investments.
For his part, Lebanese Agriculture Minister Dr. Nizar Al-Hani emphasized the importance of strengthening economic and agricultural integration between Lebanon and its Arab surroundings, stressing that agricultural integration in the Mashreq Arab region is no longer just an option, but has become a strategic necessity to face global changes, disruption of supply chains, and increasing challenges of food, water, energy, and climate security.
He called, during his speech at the conference, for the reactivation of the quadrilateral agreement for agricultural cooperation that brings together Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria, and its development from a framework for consultation and coordination to a clear implementation program that includes specific projects, time frames, clear responsibilities, and measurable results.
He expressed deep thanks and appreciation to Jordan for its national positions and continuous support to Lebanon in various circumstances, especially during the current phase, praising the Jordanian role in serving the issues of the nation and the "Jordan First" approach as a starting point for building a strong and effective state in its Arab surroundings.
The minister pointed out that the Lebanese delegation participating in the conference and the accompanying exhibition represents the public and private sectors and national agricultural companies, confirming Lebanon's full readiness to be an active bridge in a comprehensive Arab Mashreq cooperation project, based on exchanging expertise and products, facilitating trade and transportation, encouraging joint investment, and integrating seasons and production capacities.
He also thanked the Ministry of Agriculture and the organizers of the Association of Vegetable and Fruit Exporters and Producers, praising the excellent organization of the conference and the active role of the Association in supporting the agricultural sector and regional development, explaining that integration between the countries of the region is possible and necessary, in light of each country having relative advantages, expertise, markets, and production capacities that can be completed with other countries to build a more resilient regional agricultural and food system capable of facing crises.
In the same context, Palestinian Agriculture Minister Dr. Rezq Salimiya confirmed, in a speech delivered via video conferencing, that the launch of the title "Mashreq Arab Conference" is not just a neutral geographical designation, but expresses an idea and a practical project that goes beyond traditional slogans, and that the Mashreq Arab region is forming as a comprehensive historical, social, economic, and cultural space, in which the countries of the region share many vital components, topped by: basic resources: energy, water, and geographical interconnection, human capital: expertise and different productive sectors, and common solutions to regional challenges.
The minister pointed out the need to convert the variation in resources
and relative advantages between countries into a shared production force, noting that the shortage of some resources in one country can be compensated by taking advantage of the surplus or advantages available in another country, confirming that what the countries collectively possess in terms of energy, water, and suitable climate, along with the capabilities of the private sector and executive expertise, forms a solid foundation for building an integrated Mashreq system that guarantees regional food security.
He called for moving from the traditional model in which each country relies on securing its own food to a more realistic and sustainable model based on strengthening the food integration network between the Mashreq Arab countries.
For his part, Deputy Syrian Agriculture Minister Dr. Muhammad Muqaddami emphasized the existence of major challenges threatening production chains, expressing hope that this conference would come out with recommendations that would be a roadmap for the agricultural sector.
For his part, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jordanian Association of Vegetable and Fruit Exporters and Producers, Engineer Mazen Hamarneh, emphasized the importance of establishing a basic foundation for regional integration in the fields of production and marketing, which contributes to increasing marketing opportunities and breaking into new markets for national agricultural products.
Hamarneh called, during his speech at the conference, to move away from the narrow sectoral and regional rhetoric that appears through some media and social media platforms, stressing that the Association has been based since its inception on enhancing cooperation and integration between the countries of the region, explaining that the volume of local agricultural production is very high compared to the surrounding markets that witness intense competition, noting that the Association seeks, through its partnerships with its brothers, to open new and large markets to absorb this production.
He praised the government support for the Association's orientations, especially in helping the sector to break into new European markets, noting that the opening of land lines has made those markets highly prepared to receive Jordanian products, stressing that the relationship with neighboring countries should be based on the principle of integration rather than competition, calling for investing in existing bases to achieve the common interest of the agricultural sector.
