New York - Israel had a rare moment of gratification at the UN this week, when the country was singled out by the president of the General Assembly for its success in combating world food crises. At an emergency meeting of the Economic and Social Council on the global food crises, GA President Srgjan Kerim praised Israel for managing to avert the food crises because of agricultural technologies that have helped increase agricultural output. Kerim spoke of his recent visit to Israel where he "learned from President Shimon Peres that Israel was ready to participate fully with the international community and share its knowledge and expertise in order to try to find a solution to the food crises." Israel was the only country to be singled out by the GA president at Tuesday's emergency meeting. Following the meeting, several delegates approached the Israeli representatives to shake hands and congratulate them. "This was very, very special," said Israel's Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dani Carmon. "This was a moment of gratification, and we don't have too many at the UN." At that meeting, the UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro pointed out that, even before the eruption of the crisis, 830 million people around the world had faced acute food shortages, and rising prices - 74 per cent for rice and 130 % for wheat over the past year - would push another 100 million people or more into deep poverty, according to the World Bank. Israel's recognition comes at the heels of the first Israeli-initiated resolution to be passed by the GA dealing with agricultural technology for development. After a lengthy diplomatic process, which lasted more than six months, UN member states supported the resolution in a vote of 118 countries in favor, with 29 abstentions and no objections. In the last two weeks, Israel has also been very active in the sixteenth session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, convened at UN headquarters in New York, where the state committed to sharing its expertise and knowledge.
