October 9, 2009, Washington, D.C.—As part of his tour of the United States, His Excellency Amin Abaza, the Egyptian Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, participated in a roundtable discussion at CNFA’s Washington, D.C., headquarters. His Excellency Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s Ambassador to the United States, also attended the event. CNFA Senior Advisor Tom Campbell facilitated the discussion.
The roundtable centered on how the United States and Egypt can work together to strengthen the Egyptian agricultural sector and brought the minister and ambassador together with senior executives from many American agribusinesses, including the U.S. Grains Council, the American Soybean Association, Dow AgroSciences, Monsanto, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, CropLife America, Case New Holland and Cargill.
Opening the discussion, CNFA Vice President of Programs Sylvain Roy said he hoped that through the open dialogue of the roundtable, “the collaboration and cooperation between two of the most important agricultural countries around the world will be improved.”
After outlining the present growth in the Egyptian agricultural sector, Minster Abaza reviewed the challenges his country faces, including water use efficiency low market access. However, he affirmed his commitment to growth, saying, “Whatever it takes to be a part of modern agriculture, we will do.”
The minister concluded his remarks to the assembled group with an invitation: “We are ready for cooperation."
