“The lifting of the ban will be signed tomorrow,” said Jassem Al-Badr, chairman of the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources in Kuwait. The Kuwaiti official made the comments following the conclusion of the 18th GCC Agricultural Meeting that took place on Sunday in the GCC Secretariat General headquarters in Riyadh.

Kuwait is the second country to lift a ban imposed on the import of chilled or frozen chicken from Saudi Arabia. Last week, UAE Minister of Environment and Water Mohammed Saeed Al-Kindi issued a decree lifting the ban imposed on the importing of chilled and frozen chicken and table egg from Saudi Arabia. The ministry’s decision to lift the ban was based on information from the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), which gave Saudi Arabia a clean chit as a result of safety measures taken by Riyadh to get bird flu under total control.

Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Al-Badr said that officials had discussed ways to develop relations between GCC countries and other international agricultural organizations. “GCC countries lack the experience of international organizations,” he said, adding that it was important to focus on human resource development in Gulf member states in the agriculture and farming industries.

GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah welcomed Kuwait’s decision to lift the ban on the poultry products and called on other countries to follow suit.

Source: Arab News