Dhaka for UN task force to address food security issues
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21/04/2008
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Daily Star (Bangladesh)
Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury has urged the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to immediately establish a high level Task Force to address the acute global food crisis. He made the appeal while chairing a ministerial meeting of LDCs on the eve of the inaugural of UNCTAD-XII in the Ghana's capital on Saturday. Iftekhar proposed that the task force, comprising eminent persons, should address long-term food security issues including those of agricultural productivity, grains trade, land utilisation and diversion for bio-fuels. He also suggested that the Task Force submit its recommendations within three months, following which the secretary general should convene an international meeting to take appropriate action. "The magnitude of the crisis demands no lesser action,' he said. The proposals received enthusiastic support from the LDC ministers and were incorporated in the Declaration Document. The foreign adviser also offered to share Bangladesh's experiences in agricultural production with other African countries within the context of South-South Cooperation. The conference, which adopted a 35-para action-oriented document, was also attended by UNCTAD Secretary General Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi.