BEIRUT: In view of the global crisis brought on by the Ukraine-Russia war, Lebanese President Michel Aoun has called for the setting up of a common market to handle the food scarcity in the Arab area.

In response to the current crisis, "Arab countries must work together to ensure food and agricultural products for our people," Aoun was cited as saying in a statement issued by the Presidency.

The President made his comments when he met with the ministers of agriculture from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq, who were in Beirut for the Arab Agricultural Ministerial Conference, to chefk the prospects for regional cooperation to achieve food security, as per Xinhua news report.

Aoun emphasised the necessity of establishing a regional agricultural production and distribution calendar, which would help Arab nations export their goods more effectively.
Abbas Hajj Hassan, the minister of agriculture for Lebanon, said that this nation, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq had decided to sign a quartet agreement to achieve agricultural integration by abolishing trade barriers, which would inspire other nations in the area to do the same.

Meanwhile, Syrian Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform Mohammed Hassan Qatana said that the four countries agreed to unify standard specifications and various technical and administrative procedures to facilitate agricultural trade among these countries.

In addition to strengthening ties at the agricultural level, Qatana said that "our objective is to incorporate the biggest number of Arab countries in this alliance."

Khaled Hneifat, the minister of agriculture for Jordan, emphasised the significance of Arab nations working together to address issues like climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic, and challenges in the agricultural sector.

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