Khartoum — Khartoum is due to host, with the participation of officials and experts from 20 countries, a regional workshop on "Food Security and Nutrition," which is to be organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) during the period 17-18 of the current September in collaboration with the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

The workshop will tackle a number of topics including regional priorities of food security and nutrition in the context of social and political transformation in the region, in addition to the social protection and realization of food security.

It also addresses the climate change and food security besides the issue of food waste and losses. The workshop, which will be organized the Regional Office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the Near East aims at bringing together experts and policy makers from 20 countries in the region as well as representatives of the United Nations agencies, donor countries, regional organizations, civil society organizations, research institutions and the private sector.

The challenges of food security and nutrition facing the region are to be discussed besides determination of recommendations that could be implemented. The workshop comes as a follow-up to the recommendation of the 31st session of the FAO Regional Conference for the Near East, held in Rome during 14-18 of May 2012, which recommended the prioritization of food security and nutrition in the region to presented during the 39th session of the meeting of the Committee on Food Security and Nutrition which will be held during 15-20 October 2012.

Among the expected outcomes of the workshop, is the determination of the issues of regional priority of food security and nutrition in the context of the ongoing social and political transformations, evaluation of the options pertinent to the available policies that are associated with the topics to be discussed at the thirty-ninth meeting of the Committee on Food Security and Nutrition.