RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has organised a four-day exhibition in Geneva to highlight the importance of camels as part of its presidency of the International Year of Camelids 2024, Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.
The United Nations declared 2024 the International Year of Camelids and the designation will highlight how the animals are key to the livelihoods of millions of households in hostile environments across over 90 countries, particularly indigenous peoples and local communities.
The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Office in Geneva organized the exhibition in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Permanent Mission of the Plurinational State of Bolivia to the United Nations Office, and the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The exhibition, from June 24-28 2024, aims to highlight the economic, social, and cultural importance of camels and their contributions to food security, nutrition, economic growth, and cultural heritage in over 90 countries.
The Saudi section of the exhibition highlights prominent locally manufactured camel products and their importance in achieving food security in the Kingdom, as well as showcasing the numerous medical benefits of these products.
The Kingdom’s delegation to the exhibition is headed by Ali Al-Shaikhi, undersecretary for fisheries and livestock wealth at the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture.
In a speech, Al-Shaikhi stressed the importance of camels in promoting economic development, contributing to food security, and achieving sustainable development goals for livestock.
He highlighted the Kingdom’s support for the camel sector, noting that Saudi Arabia has contributed $844,342 to support the IYC 2024 and has adopted several local and international initiatives to support the camel sector as a cultural and heritage asset.
The Kingdom has made significant strides in developing the camel sector locally and internationally, raising community awareness about the importance of camels and their role in providing food and livelihoods for their owners and breeders.
The Kingdom has also spread community awareness encouraging increased productivity and combating diseases and epidemics that affect camels. It has highlighted the importance of regularly vaccinating the animals, and improving the marketing of camel products to raise breeders’ incomes and living standards.
The Kingdom has also cooperated with international bodies to develop and update all regulations and laws related to camel activities. It has launched a cultural and educational grant called the “Camel Studies Grant” to encourage scientific research and authorship and support studies, authors, and translators specializing in camels.
