Executive report: Water, Food Security and Regional Cooperation A MENA2050 Collaborative Roundtable Conference

We are pleased to share the report summary of the Ermenonville Collaborative Gathering held on May 23rd-26th, 2025, focused on Water, Food Security, and Regional Cooperation. The meeting took place at the historic Château d’Ermenonville in France, where members from across the MENA region gathered to explore and deepen cooperation on these pressing challenges (https://mena2050.org/mena2050-gathering-at-chateau-dermenonville-in-france-advancing-regional-solutions-for-food-and-water-security/)

Water, Food Security and Regional Cooperation

A MENA2050 Collaborative Roundtable Conference

May 23rd-26th, 2025

Château d’Ermenonville, Ermenonville, France.

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Executive Summary:

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regionis already facing some of the most severe impacts of climate change. Currently, 15 of the 20 most water-stressed countries in the world are located in MENA. These climatic pressures are projected to intensify, making adaptation an immediate imperative. Among the most affected sectors are water and agrifood systems, both vital for stability and development. While several MENA countries have implemented mitigation and adaptation measures, a coordinated, cross-border regional strategy is urgently needed to scale up solutions and build collective resilience.

The MENA2050 Collaborative Roundtable Conference, held from May 23rd to 26th, 2025, at the Château d’Ermenonville in France, convened a diverse group of regional and international leaders, experts, and private sector practitioners, coming from various backgrounds, all united by a commitment to advancing climate solutions. The event drew a diverse group of around 40 participants, coming from many countries across the MENA region, as well as from Europe and Africa. These participants convened to address the pressing threat currently facing the Middle East and North Africa region: climate-driven water and food insecurity. The event aimed to promote knowledge sharing of both the challenges and innovative practices, promoting the development of sustainable, scalable solutions for the MENA region.

Over two intense days of roundtable discussions, expert panels, presentations, and collaborative workshops, the conference addressed two interlinked challenges: water governance and agrifood systems transformation, under the broader umbrella of climate mitigation and adaptation. Both challenges were recognized as essential for building long-term resilience across the region. Experts highlighted the interdependence between food, energy, and water, thus emphasizing the urgent need for integrated regional approaches. While political fragmentation, resource constraints, and financing gaps were openly discussed, promising opportunities and regional models were also highlighted. These included a wind-powered desalination model in Morocco, biodynamic agriculture in Egypt, a food rescue model in Israel, and cross-border youth programs for environmental leadership. These examples of concrete, tangible projects, already demonstrating impact at the national level, served as inspiring examples of what regional cooperation could achieve.

Main themes discussed during the conference included:

• • The need for regional frameworks and cooperation mechanisms in order to manage shared water resources and build climate resilience.

• • Private sector engagement and natural capital investment as critical levers for scaling solutions.

• • The transformation of agriculture from a subsistence model to a strategic pillar for regional security and innovation.

• • Reviving cross-border water resource management initiatives (i.e. EcoPeace program between Jordan, Israel, and Palestine).

• • The importance of knowledge-sharing platforms and data access in order to bridge gaps and accelerate adaptation.

• • A regional R&D framework can support sustainable development while serving as a platform for nonpolitical regional cooperation.

The event concluded with a collaborative workshop, which resulted in proposals for three new initiatives. These outcomes reinforced the value of the conference format itself, bringing together diverse stakeholders from various disciplines, sectors, and countries to collectively forge concrete initiatives. The collaborative spirit and sense of shared commitment between participants reflected a deep and strong dedication to tangible, cross-border solutions rooted in both science and solidarity. The diversity of voices, shared vision, and readiness to work across divides revealed a clear path towards tangible regional change.

Day 1 – May 24th, 2025

First Roundtable on Water Security & Climate Adaptation

Session 1 – Climate Adaptation Strategies.

Introduction

The speaker opened the session by highlighting a critical void in the MENA region: the absence of a unified organization dedicated to climate action. The speaker highlighted the lack of a unified, region-wide climate organization. More critically, current leadership and policies are fundamentally misaligned with the scale of climate challenges.. This misalignment is starkly evident in the agricultural sector, where 86% of freshwater resources go to agriculture, without accounting for climate-related risks.

There is an urgent need for political awareness and policy-making focused on stressing the consequences of climate change within MENA. Based on this, she emphasized how water and food security are inseparable from climate resilience, but also how climate change directly impacts national social structures, and how the consequences are not just environmental.

The international climate context

The second speaker started his presentation by stating that 2024 was the year global temperature passed the 1.5°C threshold, overriding the Paris Agreement goals. The main question here is, who is responsible for these emissions? « Emerging countries » are increasing their emissions, India being the fastest. «Developed countries» are currently plateauing, their emissions have decreased, and we notice a global shift to decarbonized electricity, with 50% of electricity produced by decarbonized means.

The speaker then talked about the climate summits, and especially on the question of their efficiency. The Dubai COP was successful in starting stocktake, however, its results remained only declarative. The Baku COP was focused on finance and concluded in the commitment from « developed countries » to triple financial aid, accounting by 2035 for 1.3 Trillion USD. Currently, only 20 out of 190 UN-recognized countries have submitted national climate plans. He stated that both in the United States and the European Union, there is a strong climate fatigue since clean energy sources are still more expensive than traditional fossil fuels.

Currently, the most committed and proactive investors in climate-resilient solutions are the private sector. Thus, the question is can business pressure policies?

From the Paris Agreement to today

Ever since the Paris Agreement, it has been understood that the agreement’s agenda needed to shift from political to citizen-based. Indeed, since the Paris Agreement in 2015, there has been an increase in emissions rather than a decrease. Moreover, fossil fuel subjects were always taboo, despite being the root of the problem, until the Dubai COP of 2023, where it was openly discussed. The speaker also talked about – through the example of electric vehicles, which require new minerals to function – the rethinking of the future of the industry and policies in order to be fully aligned with the future challenges MENA will be facing.

She then focused on MENA, where, despite being a big emitter (6-7% of global emissions), is highly vulnerable to climate change (e.g. 15 of the most climate-vulnerable nations are in MENA). The first impact faced by citizens is the double-burden of water, namely, the unpredictable floods and the high rates of water scarcity. As one of the pillars of MENA’s economies, agriculture represents 35% of employment in the region and 13% of GDP. Despite that, up to 90% of the food available is imported in the region.

Thus, food and water insecurity represent a major risk in MENA, which is worsened by both climate and low regional integration. The speaker also emphasized how, in addition to water and food-related consequences, the region will also be facing important social consequences, which could also be a factor in exacerbating current conflicts.

Her call for action was to promote mitigation in « developed countries » in order to reduce the need for adaptation in MENA.

The Arava Institute and practical solutions

The speaker introduced the Arava Institute, which promotes shared natural resources management across borders in MENA via youth programs. In MENA, dust storms cost ⅓ of their electrical output, the innovation in agriculture that the Arava Institute is working on will, thus, prevent this important cost. The Institute combines technical research and peacebuilding in its work. This method enables students from a variety of nationalities and identities to build trust and understanding. The speaker stated that this is how, at the Arava Institute, they work for the future peace of the region, by creating the leaders of tomorrow.

Governance and systemic challenges

Currently, we face many barriers to effective adaptation to climate change:

– Political instability;

– Poor cooperation at the government levels;

– Outdated and unadapted laws;

– Weak civil society engagement;

– Gaps in regional financing, despite the wealth potential in GCC.

These barriers represent systemic impediments to climate issues.

Additionally, there are research and knowledge-based issues to tackle, one of them being the insufficient funding for climate research. We also face a very low number of independent climate research at the regional level due to the overrepresentation of European and North American research institutes. Currently, out of 26 thousand science papers, only 12% come from MENA and Africa. This overreliance on Northern models is not adapted to local issues and specificities. It lacks traditional knowledge integration adapted to the region, which – combined with innovation and technologies – could foster more effective solutions adapted to the regional context.

The speaker’s recommendations were the following:

• • Adaptation must be seen as a socio-economic and national security issue.

• • Adaptation to climate change must be included in major infrastructure tenders.

• • We need to push for a regional framework for climate governance.

Financing and innovation

The speaker is optimistic in our ability to tackle our current issues. According to him, technology solutions already exist, and funding issues will also be fixed. Thus, since the tools and instruments already exist, what is missing is a linkage between nature-based climate solutions (NbCS) and finance. He stated that science attracts funding, and it is available if we focus on innovation. AFOLU (Agriculture, Forestry, Land Use) is the largest emission source in developing countries. Focusing on funding AFOLU innovations presents a strong cost-effective solution for both adaptation and mitigation.

The speaker then emphasized the need to grow natural capital, which is currently threatened due to overexploitation. Natural capital can create a financial industry, what we need to do is venture other capital to focus on gathering and aggregating these databases of already existing innovations, and scale up the project. He highlighted the case of an Indian company, which scaled from 250 thousand USD to 1 billion USD by aggregating climate data and solutions.

The speaker then concluded by stressing the importance of quality cooperation. He referred to a G20 process led by Saudi Arabia, where a scheme was proposed to support projects that scale up, with loans granted if a demonstrable project proves successful. He pointed to two main challenges within the Global South: first, many countries are reluctant to co-fund without clear proof of profitability; second, the global pessimism creates barriers to climate finance.

Discussion and open-floor key takeaways

During the open floor discussion, participants emphasized that MENA remains the least regionally integrated region, mainly due to political constraints. Politicians need electoral support, but there is important climate fatigue, mainly fueled by the perception that everything costs more, limiting public buy-in. To move forward, the narrative must shift: not just disasters, but opportunities. Showing tangible benefits, instead of showing the consequences, is seen as more effective.

Regional cooperation is essential, but must be made appealing to the population. A MENA Green Deal was proposed, inspired by the European Union’s model, in order to gather and scale local solutions. The challenge lies in capitalizing on past crises (such as wildfires) and turning them into long-term institutional change.

Private sector actors expressed strong willingness to act, but needed rules and clarity from governments. They see the value in natural capital and parallels with empowering women, both moral and economic imperatives. Policy direction was described as crucial: it sets the compass. The example of Morocco showed that bold political signals can unlock private sector action.

Suggestions included:

– A MENA Green Deal;

– Youth and university programs;

– Regional climate awards;

– Innovation hubs;

– Integration frameworks.

These suggestions aim to foster trust, investment, and cooperation by aligning political, scientific, and entrepreneurial efforts.

Session 2 – Panel Discussion: Water Security Challenges and Solutions.

Introduction

The speaker introduced the session by stating that water sources in MENA face critical challenges. Desalination, although necessary in MENA, is widespread in the GCC but only starting in the Maghreb. Agriculture uses over 80% of water, creating major issues, especially with high water footprint for some agricultural exports such as olive oil and dates. The MENA region includes the ten driest countries in the world, with very low rainfall and stark disparities between sub-regions, making unified solutions difficult. The speaker highlighted that collaboration is essential as water scarcity is projected to worsen in most countries. He used the example of Tunisia, where the need for desalination is increasing, and as such, should be included in strategic planning for a comprehensive water management strategy. He also emphasized the importance of the Food-Water-Energy (FEW) Nexus in such a context where agriculture is the largest freshwater consumer.

Water stress and transboundary issues in MENA

The speaker opened the session by highlighting the critical water stress situation in the MENA region, where the gap between water supply and demand is widening due to rapid population growth and climate change. With some of the fastest-growing populations globally, MENA countries face rising water consumption, thus intensifying already existing shortages. An additional unforeseen impact of climate change is the disruption of rainfall patterns, making the predictability of water availability for agriculture increasingly unreliable. Farmers struggle to adapt, as they can no longer forecast the right timing for planting and harvesting.

The speaker then emphasized that water scarcity in the region is deeply intertwined with political realities. Transboundary water resources such as the Jordan River Basin, the North Western Sahara Aquifer System, and the Nile Basin involve complex geopolitical challenges. Although technological solutions exist, political conflicts often block their implementation. The frequent seawater intrusion into aquifers due to their excessive extraction, such as in Gaza, for example, further complicates the situation. The speaker stressed the urgent need for negotiation and dialogue platforms that include all stakeholders, noting that addressing these water challenges requires integrating political decision-making with technical and scientific solutions.

Water cycles in Israel and Palestine

The speaker presented how climate change is disrupting water cycles in Israel and Palestine, namely: shifting rainfall patterns, more droughts, and increased evaporation, all threatening water availability. In Palestine, communities rely heavily on over-extracted groundwater. The speaker explained how desalination alone is not enough without proper water management, especially due to surface pollution and seawater intrusion, making water quality worse. In the West Bank, aquifers are shared, however, aquifer infiltration of untreated or poorly treated wastewater in the West Bank affects downstream users on the Israeli side.

The speaker then focused on wastewater reuse and artificial groundwater recharge, especially by optimizing the floodwater. He introduced these as key potential solutions, which require joint planning and infrastructure. Unmonitored extraction, pollution, and lack of coordination are worsening the crisis. Only through collaboration (e.g. managing shared aquifers and co-investing in wastewater treatment) will the region be able to secure long-term water sustainability.

Morocco’s wind-powered desalination model

The speaker presented Morocco as a leading example of integrating renewable energy and desalination to tackle water scarcity sustainably. Morocco’s abundant wind resources, estimated at 6000 gigawatts potential, enable large-scale desalination projects powered primarily by wind energy. The country already operates several plants, such as the Agadir desalination plant, which subsidizes agricultural water, enabling climate-resilient farming and boosting food security.

Morocco’s strategy includes exporting electricity to Europe and neighboring African countries, linking water security with regional economic integration. The speaker highlighted Morocco’s 1.3 GW wind capacity, focused on desalination, and their plans for green hydrogen production, which further supports freshwater supply and industrial decarbonization. This approach fosters job creation, technology transfer, and regional cooperation, demonstrating how innovative, nexus-based solutions can address water, energy, and food challenges simultaneously. However, it was also acknowledged that large projects take decades to implement and stressed the importance of sustained investment and political commitment.

Discussion and open-floor key takeaways

One of the participants shared a larger-scale vision linking Morocco to Nigeria through a «motorway of connectivity» for water, energy, and internet. Despite the high cost, it aims to position Morocco as a key energy supplier to Africa and Europe. Especially through green hydrogen exports, which could divide the costs thanks to the use of dedicated pipelines.

Participants also emphasized how water-saving efforts in agriculture focus on limiting supply since the savings potential is nearly at its maximum. Wastewater treatment continues, but its cost remains an issue. Wind power sales are also helpful in subsidizing the agricultural water costs.

Climate change also brings more atmospheric moisture, causing flash floods that countries are not prepared for. Water management thus includes capturing excess water (e.g., Jordan’s infiltration plans). Participants also introduced another model from Morocco, which uses dams and basin transfers to manage uneven water distribution within the country.

Green hydrogen economics face risks from EU regulations and global competition. Morocco’s strategy is to avoid freshwater use in urban landscaping and thus ensure local needs before exports. Economic pressure is placed on companies in order to minimize water loss and maintain the system’s efficiency.

The significant contrast between water use and the economic role of tourism compared to agriculture was also mentioned during the discussion.

The open-floor concluded with the acknowledgment of the progress made, but still highlighted the remaining challenges in Morocco: slow investor buy-in due to public skepticism, limited wastewater treatment beyond the main cities, and significant irrigation water loss.

Session 3 – Roundtable Discussion: Policy and Innovation for Water Security.

The discussion focused on renewable energy, water desalination, and carbon markets in the MENA region, particularly in Morocco, Egypt, and Israel.

● Scaling wind energy and desalination.

Using Morocco’s wind-powered desalination model as a base, the speakers explained it could also be replicated in countries such as Egypt, which has significant potential for wind energy, and particularly in the Sinai Peninsula and Red Sea coasts. The region overall has strong potential for renewables, irrigated agriculture, and green hydrogen development.

● Morocco’s renewable energy policy.

The discussion centered on Morocco’s involvement with the private sector since 1995, which helped attract major investors such as Siemens and Chinese companies. These public-private partnerships have been key to the successful wind farms development in the country.

● Carbon markets in Morocco, Egypt, and Israel.

Morocco is setting up its first carbon agency.

Egypt launched a voluntary carbon market focused on agriculture.

Israel is still shaping its carbon trading mechanisms and policies.

● Regional cooperation.

The conversation centered around the UAE and Morocco shared historical ties and mutual interests in food security, water, and energy. This creates space for cross-border investment and technological transfer.

This conversation highlighted the region’s potential for innovative renewable energy solutions and collaborative approaches in order to address environmental challenges.

Day 2 – May 25th, 2025

Second Roundtable on Food Security & Food-Energy-Water Nexus

Session 4 – The Critical Need for an Agrifood Systems Transformation in the MENA Region.

Through a first-of-its-kind white paper, focused on the current status of agrifood systems in the MENA region, the presenters highlighted the urgency of transforming agri-food systems in the region due to growing food insecurity, high import dependence, and climate pressure. With over 60% of the MENA population under water stress and up to 85% of food imported in some countries, the region faces serious vulnerabilities. MENA is also warming at twice the global rate, and crop yields are projected to decline by up to 60%.

Despite wide contrasts between MENA countries, most of the region suffers from fragmented trade, underused high-value crops, and minimal intra-regional trade and cooperation. Conflict-affected states rely heavily on aid, while others, such as Morocco and Egypt, have significant agricultural potential and use, but limited resilience to climate and economic issues.

Overall, despite stark contrasts, the MENA region faces common challenges, among them are water scarcity, climate pressures, socio-political instability, economic constraints, and a lack of access to standardized and digitalized data. Despite these concerns, the region also has strengths to leverage from: geographical and climate diversity, a strong strategic location, human capital and cultural heritage, and a strong openness to agri-tech innovations.

A MENA Regional R&D Framework

The presentation emphasized the need for sustainable agriculture, inclusive food systems, and a regional R&D framework, similar to the EU framework. The proposed framework aims to promote innovation, cross-border collaboration, and local capacity-building in order to move the MENA region towards long-term food security and sustainability.

The speaker concluded by presenting the first step of establishing an R&D framework, mapping the innovation landscape at the regional level.

Discussion and open floor

The discussion following the presentation focused on the need to leverage MENA’s strategic location in order to improve intra-regional logistics and trade. The participants emphasized the need for practical, coordinated action and a strong regional framework.

Strong logistics infrastructure is critical for agricultural development, but fragmentation, political tensions, and administrative inefficiencies, such as trucks blocked at borders, remain major barriers. Comparative studies of national logistics and trade policies were recommended to better align efforts across countries.

Beyond food production, participants highlighted the broader value of agriculture, including economic resilience, social stability, and even counter-terrorism. There was strong support in the audience for changing the narrative around farming as a sector of opportunity and innovation, rather than survival.

Emphasis was also placed on the role of trade policy, stakeholder engagement, and bottom-up initiatives to overcome political gridlock. A proposal emerged to use water and food as strategic pillars to guide integration, investment, and data-driven decision-making across MENA, similar to the European Union’s post-war union on coal and steel.

Session 5 – Panel Discussion: Strengthening Food Security in the MENA Region through Regional Collaboration, Innovation, and Knowledge Sharing.

Under the moderation of the day’s key speaker, the panel discussion had each speaker introduce their projects and specificities.

Project 1: Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems

The speaker presented insights from 57 OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) countries, where agriculture is transitioning from a social safety net to a strategic economic sector. Despite holding over 25% of the world’s arable land, productivity in Islamic countries remains low. Key drivers affecting agriculture include demographic changes, climate change, and the rise of digital technologies.

The AKIS (Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems) model focused on adapting innovation to farmers in order to both increase productivity for the agricultural sector and bridge knowledge gaps by strengthening connections between farmers, researchers, and policymakers. The framework highlights the importance of economic efficiency, localization, and building robust knowledge networks.

Project 2: The improvement of food system supply chains

The speaker presented Israel’s national food security plan, which includes knowledge sharing and tech-based assessments in order to manage the country’s heavy dependence on food imports. These food imports are estimated at 68%, and at 90% for wheat, grains, and fish. She then presented a pilot project focused on showing the urgency of reducing vulnerability.

Using an AI-powered platform, they analyzed hundreds of future scenarios, incorporating not just climate risks but also geopolitical, maritime, and social risks. The data showed how risky relying solely on imports is, while producing key staples such as wheat within MENA is unrealistic due to environmental limits. Instead, the plan promotes a cooperative approach. Sharing Israeli technologies and expertise so neighbouring countries can produce locally, while working together on regional trade negotiations. This model would create mutual benefit: MENA countries would gain production capacity, and Israel would secure stable supply chains, reducing overall food security risks within the region.

Project 3: Regional innovation in food systems

The speaker presented the growing gap between innovative agri-tech and its implementation across MENA. While advanced technologies exist, especially in GCC countries, the challenge lies in scaling and connecting research to on-the-ground realities. Such technologies often target governments and corporations, but simple, affordable solutions are what small-scale farmers actually need. The speaker thus explained how the focus should shift towards practical, low-cost technologies that are easy to adopt. Real impacts focused on these, such as climate-resilient seeds or simplified systems, would meet farmers’ needs directly.

Follow-up questions to the panel – Key takeaways

The panelists emphasized identifying climate-resilient crops and questioned the sustainability of current agricultural choices as weather patterns shift. Beyond production, participants also discussed overconsumption and the need to rethink diets (e.g. replacing fully imported staples such as rice with local alternatives). Strengthening regional supply chains and reducing reliance on global trade were seen as crucial for resilience.

AI offers powerful forecasting tools, however, data availability and access remain a challenge. Some participants argued that existing platforms could be adapted rather than building new ones from scratch.

Examples such as the SESAME project in Jordan and small-scale partnerships were cited as models for the region. To that extent, the importance of MENA2050 as a platform for connecting stakeholders and enabling cross-border actions was emphasized.

Session 6 – Presentation of Suggested Projects for the MENA Region

Leket Israel’s food rescue model

The speaker presented Leket Israel’s food rescue model, currently in use in Israel. This innovative system converts food waste into valuable resources, addressing both economic disparities and environmental concerns. Annually, Israel generates 2.6 million tons of food waste, while 1.5 million people face food insecurity. In 2024, the model rescued over 2 million hot meals and tons of fresh produce through an intricate network of hubs, nonprofit partners, volunteers, etc.

The presenter highlighted the transformative potential of expanding Leket’s food rescue model to the MENA region, which could recover up to 47% of food currently wasted. They also outlined the financial and operational requirements for scaling this approach across the region, emphasizing its substantial impact on improving food security, advancing climate action, and delivering strong economic returns if implemented widely.

Discussion and open floor

The discussion explored the financial cost of implementing the model in the MENA countries. Participants also emphasized how rooted the concept of Leket Israel is in cultural and religious traditions.

The mental health benefits for both recipients and volunteers of this model were also strongly emphasized.

The project « Economy of Love »

The speaker presented the Egyptian initiative « Economy of Love », which tackles economic pressures, including high inflation and currency devaluation, impacting 7 million smallholder farmers. Through promoting biodynamic agriculture, the program offers accessible organic certification, education, and financial incentives, alongside a carbon credit system providing additional income for farmers.

The organic practices presented by the speaker significantly reduced carbon emissions, with farmers now supported by extension engineers. The program has expanded from 500 to 23,000 farmers in Egypt, and with financial support, it aims to broaden its activities to the MENA region.

Discussion and open floor

The discussion centered around how comparative studies show substantial cost savings for biodynamic farmers, who benefit from expert guidance on mixed crop cultivation.

Session 7 – Session on the Food-Water-Energy Nexus

This presentation on the Food-Energy-Water Nexus was the outcome of the work on three projects: Jordan’s first climate security intelligence unit, Jordan’s food security collaboration with Israel, and strategies for managing Jordan’s water scarcity challenges.

Jordan currently faces worsening water shortages due to population growth and climate change. Most water available comes from groundwater and shared sources, while precipitation is unreliable. Half of the water available is used for irrigation, and treated wastewater remains underutilized despite its high potential. To address this issue, despite a slow implementation, plans are in place to collect high volumes of treated water annually.

High energy costs strain Jordan’s economy. The country has been pushing for renewable energy for years, with solar and wind at the forefront, Jordan having strong potential in that area. However, regional grid integration and limited data access are major challenges.

Since COVID-19, Jordan and Israel have strengthened food security ties, especially on projects emphasizing private sector leadership, as governments often avoid direct involvement due to the regional geopolitical climate.

Session 8 – Collaborative Workshop: Developing a Common Project

The last session of the collaborative conference divided the audience into three groups to work on developing a common project. The first group proposed a regional innovation hub in Senegal focused on climate, agri-tech, and energy. Their project aims to support local cooperatives, use sustainable technologies such as agri-voltaics, and involve private and public partners.

The second group discussed setting up a MENA-wide fund for climate and nature-based projects. As discussed within the group, capital seems accessible if it is tied to real, tangible impact. Their project is thus to develop an infrastructure fund targeting agroforestry and cross-border initiatives.

The third and last group suggested a MENA research center for climate change and food systems. The previously introduced R&D Framework was reiterated, and the group also proposed working together in order to co-create additional solutions.

Open-floor conclusions

The collaborative conference was overall greatly appreciated. All of the audience was satisfied with the outcome of the weekend.

The logistics and organization of the event were greatly saluted.

A survey was shared with the audience to be filled at the end of the last session.

The main outcomes were the following:

• • The highlights of the event were meeting in-person passionate, skilled professionals from diverse MENA backgrounds, who shared innovative projects and initiatives in the region, and the sense of shared hope and purpose. The MENA2050 project was also a key point saluted by participants.

• • All the projects and themes presented during the collaborative roundtable were recommended as priorities to advance in MENA.

• • The vast majority of participants are planning on staying in touch and collaborating with the other participants following the event.

• • On the question of whether or not the participants would recommend the conference to other professionals, the response was an overwhelming yes.

To conclude, participants expressed their strong appreciation for the organization, venue, and hospitality. Moreover, many mentioned how hopeful, energized, and inspired they felt following their participation at the event.