Minister Inam Karimov attended an online conference on the occasion of International Tea Day

An online conference on the II International Tea Day was held in connection with the organization of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The conference was attended by the Ministers of Agriculture of the leading tea producing countries, experts and specialists in the agricultural field. Minister of Agriculture Inam Karimov represented Azerbaijan at the event.

In his opening speech, Director General of UN Food and Agriculture Organization Gu Dongyu informed about the current state of tea-growing in the world, economic importance and potential opportunities of this field. The general director of FAO stressed the importance of strengthening interstate cooperation in order to achieve progress in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals and promote modern sustainable agriculture and its development.

Speaking at the event, Minister of Agriculture Inam Karimov gave detailed information to the participants of the meeting on the development of tea-growing in Azerbaijan and state support in this field. He noted that this sector plays an important role in ensuring employment, increasing export potential and farmers' incomes.

It was stressed the importance of expanding the cooperation of the FAO within the Intergovernmental Group on tea-growing of the leading countries engaged in tea production. It was noted that Azerbaijan's agriculture is at the stage of turning into modern digital agriculture. It was noted that in November of this year, the Azerbaijani side plans to organize an international digital agriculture conference in partnership with FAO.

Then the conference continued with panel discussions. The main topic of the conference was the fight against pandemic risks. Participants of the event shared their views on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of tea-growing, prospects for the development of this field in the post-pandemic period. The conference also exchanged views on the adaptation of the agricultural sector to climate changes, the development of quality products and productivity, the establishment of a value chain in the field of tea-growing, and the role of this sector in reducing poverty.