ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES—MARCH 14-16, 2023—The N7 Initiative, a partnership between the Atlantic Council and the Jeffrey M. Talpins Foundation working to strengthen and deepen Arab-Israeli normalization in the wake of the Abraham Accords, will host the N7 Conference on Agriculture, Water & Food Security March 14-16 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
This event, the latest in a series of multilateral N7 conferences, supports the growing diplomatic ties between Israel and the Arab and Muslim world. The N7 Conference on Agriculture, Water & Food Security will build on the success of the N7 Conference on Education and Coexistence held in Morocco in December 2022 which produced innovative policy and project recommendations that were provided to participants in the Negev Forum and included in the discussions of its working group on education and coexistence.
“Based on the extremely positive feedback we received from officials who took part in the Negev Forum working group meetings in January, the N7 Initiative has proven itself as a strong partner to the governments engaged in that effort,” said Ambassador (ret.) Daniel B. Shapiro, Director of the N7 Initiative. “Our proposals on regional educational and coexistence initiatives were prominently featured in the discussions among the delegations.”
The N7 Conference on Agriculture, Water & Food Security, which will take place with the support of the Government of the United Arab Emirates, will convene experts from government, civil society, academia, and the private sector from Israel and Arab and Muslim countries to discuss multilateral cooperation in the areas of agriculture, water, and food security. Attendees will produce actionable policy recommendations to positively impact the lives of their citizens and people throughout the MENA region.
“We look forward to continuing our support for the governments working to advance regional integration at our upcoming conference, and we would like to thank all participants for working together to find solutions for the challenge —we all share— said Oren Eisner, President of the Jeffrey M. Talpins Foundation. “Our goal is to produce innovative regional solutions to the shared challenges of climate change, water scarcity, and food insecurity. A special ‘Thank You’ to our friends for their support and participation in this Conference. Senator Booker, Senator Ernst, Chairman McCaul, Congressman Schneider, Ambassadors McCain, Ambassador Nides, National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, Ambassador Hayek, and of course Prime Minister Tony Blair.”
The N7 Initiative, which enjoys support from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, seeks to broaden and deepen normalization between Israel and Arab and Muslim countries and works with governments to help ensure that normalization delivers tangible benefits to their people.
“The convening power of the N7 Initiative makes us unique in our ability to bring together a community of regional experts in a given discipline who have never had the opportunity to sit together at one table,” said Will Wechsler, Senior Director for the N7 Initiative. “We are excited to enable this enriching exchange among experts in the fields of agriculture, water, and food security, which are so essential to the quality of life of people in the MENA region.”
More information about the N7 Initiative, its publications, events, leadership, and senior fellows can be found on the Atlantic Council website.
For press inquiries, please contact Austin Slater at aslater@atlanticcouncil.org.
