Upon his arrival, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed was received by Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment; Razan Al Mubarak, Managing Director of the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD), President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Chair of ICBA’s Board of Directors; Dr. Tarifa Al Zaabi, Deputy Director-General at ICBA, and a number of officials from the centre.
At the beginning of his tour, the UAE President planted a Ghaf tree, which is known for its ability to withstand difficult climatic and environmental conditions and has acquired a special symbolism in the history and identity of the UAE.
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed's tour included the outdoor area, which includes various trees that were especially planted and on which experiments were carried out, especially plants that tolerate salinity. The tour also included the Desert Life Sciences Laboratory, the Genebank and the Emirates Soil Museum.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed listened to an explanation from ICBA officials about their most important achievements, national, regional and international partnerships and fields of work, in addition to their future research plans. The officials detailed the plans that include research on sustainable management of natural resources, irrigation efficiency, remote sensing, climate-adapted crops and genome research for healthier crops, among others.
The UAE President praised the efforts of the centre’s staff and the important role ICBA plays in one of the most important areas related to development in the UAE and the world - agriculture and water.
His Highness stressed that ICBA embodies the UAE's leading role in working to achieve sustainable development at the regional and global levels, by investing knowledge, innovation and scientific research in finding solutions to the challenges facing biosaline agriculture and soil problems. It is also innovating modern methods to optimally use water for agriculture, and developing agricultural strains capable of adapting under difficult environmental and climatic conditions.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed said the UAE accords food security great priority in its development plans. Thus, it is interested in agriculture and the use of the latest scientific and technological methods to advance agriculture and increase productivity. He said the ICBA’s work confirmed the UAE's belief that science was the main way to tackle challenges facing humanity in various areas, especially agriculture and water.
At the end of his tour, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan expressed his best wishes to the centre's staff and management, and urged them to continue supplementing national agriculture, food security and water plans with more important ideas and innovations.
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed was accompanied during his tour by Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Zayed Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation; Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior; Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs; and H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
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