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Meeting at the Palestinian Embassy
CIHEAM > AGENDAS > Meeting at the Palestinian Embassy

The CIHEAM Secretary General received in Paris by the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to France

Paris, 20 January 2026

Her Excellency Mrs Hala Abou Hassira, Ambassador of the State of Palestine to France, received in Paris Mr Teodoro Miano, CIHEAM Secretary General, for a first institutional encounter focusing on the current state and future prospects of cooperation between the CIHEAM and Palestine. The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss shared priorities in the areas of agriculture, training and development projects, while also placing this relationship within the current institutional dynamics of the CIHEAM.

During the meeting, the Secretary General recalled the mission of the CIHEAM and its tools for action in the Mediterranean, structured around higher and vocational education, applied research, innovation and technical cooperation. The discussions highlighted the strategic importance of strengthening partnerships in the agri-food sector, in a regional context characterised by increasing pressure on resources, growing water constraints and the weakening of rural livelihoods.

Cooperation between the CIHEAM and Palestine is rooted in longstanding academic, human and institutional ties. For more than forty years, over 400 Palestinian students have been trained within CIHEAM institutes, making Palestine the largest student community from a non-member country. This trajectory reflects a lasting commitment, embodied in professional pathways that today contribute to the development of administrations, universities and professional organisations. Among these alumni, it is essential to mention the Palestinian Minister of Agriculture, Professor Dr Rezq Basheer-Salimia, a graduate of the CIHEAM Chania, whose recent participation in the Mediterranean Innovation AgriFood Week in Bari helped strengthen the visibility of Palestinian innovation within Mediterranean networks.

The discussions in Paris also provided an overview of projects implemented, ongoing or forthcoming, illustrating the broad scope of technical cooperation between the CIHEAM and Palestine. Several initiatives were highlighted in the fields of strengthening agri-food cooperatives and rural entrepreneurship, sustainable water management and climate-smart agriculture, research and technology transfer, as well as higher and vocational training. Key programmes were recalled, including ENPARD (2011–2020), the research networks RAFAC and FONCIMED, and MENAWARA, dedicated to the reuse of non-conventional water resources in agriculture - an issue of particular relevance for territories exposed to high levels of water stress.

Operational perspectives were also discussed, including projects under preparation or being launched, such as RELIF GAZA, aimed at restoring livelihoods through fisheries and agriculture, vocational training activities related to water resources management, hosting Palestinian university rectors to develop partnerships, as well as the Med4Olive project, focused on technical training and the transfer of know-how within the olive value chain.

The institutional evolution of the CIHEAM, especially the prospect of enlargement, was the main focus of the discussions. Both parties expressed a shared commitment to strengthening the integration of Palestine into Mediterranean dynamics of agricultural cooperation, innovation and training, in a spirit of continuity, stability and consolidation of regional partnerships.