Iraq nominates ex minister for FAO Director’s post

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com – Iraq has officially nominated its former Water Resources Minister, Abdul-Latif Jamal Rashid, for the post of the Director-General of the UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Saudi-based al-Sharq al-Awsat (Middle-East) Newspaper reported on Wednesday.   The newspaper quoted Rashid as saying that his nomination for the said post had been addressed in an official letter by the Iraqi Council of Ministers to the UN Food & Agriculture Organization.   “ Iraq ’s role in FAO reflects a responsible position towards fighting poverty, desertification, as well as striving to rise the living standard of the people, through the development of investment in water projects, along with other projects for the improvement of production,” Rashid said.   He said that “such position would further boost Iraq ’s international goodwill, in the event of the success of FAO’s director-general   to achieve his missions,” adding that he had gained broad expertise during his work with the Organization.   As regards to his possibilities to score the said position, Rashid said: “ Iraq has gained a major support by the Arab League, being a strong platform in this respect.”   Noteworthy is that FAO, based in Italy , is one of the specialized UN organizations, leading international efforts to eliminate hunger in the world, through serving both advanced and developing states in this respect.   IT / SKH       624