Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — On the sidelines of the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-16) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Riyadh (on 2–13 December), Uzbekistan’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Alisher Shukurov, met with representatives from the FAO office in Uzbekistan and Islamic Development Bank Vice President Anasse Aissami.

The meeting focused on strengthening partnerships to address global challenges, including increasing agricultural mechanization, enhancing resilience to climate change, and advancing research for sustainable agricultural solutions.

The conference, running until 13 December, highlights key themes such as accelerating the restoration of degraded lands by 2030, boosting resilience to drought and sandstorms, restoring soil health, expanding food production in harmony with natural factors, ensuring land rights, leveraging land to tackle climate and biodiversity challenges, and creating new economic opportunities and jobs for youth in land use sectors.