Muscat: Represented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, the Sultanate of Oman today took part in the 38th Ministerial Meeting of the GCC Committee for Agricultural Cooperation and Food Security. The meeting was hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Omani delegation was led by Dr. Saud bin Hamoud Al Habsi, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources.

According to Oman News Agency, the meeting discussed a proposal to establish strategic GCC storage zones for food, medicine, and essential commodities. This initiative aims to consolidate the food security system and enhance the GCC states' preparedness to deal with emergencies and crises. The meeting also approved the GCC Food Security Strategy as a guiding principle.

The meeting addressed regulatory frameworks, guidelines, and operational mechanisms for using certain plant genetic resources banks. It also discussed ways of updating GCC legislation related to pesticides, fertilizers, and agricultural products. Proposals were approved to extend the implementation of the executive regulations for the system of agricultural fertilizers and soil conditioners, and the unified law for organic products was ratified.

Additionally, the GCC Committee for Agricultural Cooperation and Food Security exchanged views on executive regulations for the veterinary quarantine law, the unified procurement programme for veterinary medicines and vaccines, and the central registration mechanism for veterinary preparations. Agreement was also reached to extend permissions to adopt a GCC unified study on permissible fishing of certain fish species of specific lengths.