Welcome intro

We are delighted to have you here to participate and share in the th __________________hosted by
our_________. Thank you for coming. That many of you travel long distances serves to remind us all just
how important our work is.
"Our desire is to extend a gracious and inclusive welcome to all of you."

"Many of you have made a huge effort to join us today. On behalf of us all, we
are deeply appreciative and offer you our most grateful welcome."

For the guest (patrons, cohort/gang

esteemed guests knowledgeable guests expert guests

Body
Conclusion
Prepare yourself to be challenged, excited and inspired.

1. Mr. R. C. Michaelides, Director-General, Ministry of Agriculture

and Natural Resources
Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to extend to you all a very warm welcome on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture and
Natural Resources and to say how grateful we are to FAO and the UNDP who have accepted our invitation to
convene this Regional Seminar on the Reclamation and Management of Sandy Soils, here in Nicosia.
It is an opportune time to renew contacts and discuss problems of mutual interest with delegates from member
countries of the Region.
It is gratifying to note that the agenda of the Seminar covers a wide range of very interesting items relating to the
physical and chemical properties of sandy soils and especially those directly related to aspects of water and
fertility management.
Although the extent of sandy soils in Cyprus is limited, and by no means comparable in importance to that in
most member countries of the Region, yet where they are cropped, they may present special problems in the
management of irrigation and fertilization.
Under unsaturated moisture conditions, the unimpeded movement of water and nutrient ions imposes the
necessity for effective and proper methods of irrigation in order to regulate moisture and ion movement, thus
ensuring an efficient use of water and fertilizers, yet preventing through ease of leaching the build up of salinity
from irrigation waters of marginal quality.
Generally under our soil conditions sandy soil horizons overlay finer texture layers or intermingle in sequence of
layers of varying textural classes. It is in this latter connection that their physical properties, such as hydraulic
conductivity modify the properties of the whole profile.
Naturally, a thorough knowledge of the behaviour of sandy soils and their internal drainage characteristics are of
fundamental importance both in the process of reclamation and also in the prevention of salinity and secondary
salinization.
We are aware of the tremendous effort made, and the large investment in funds and scientific effort by a number
of member countries in reclaiming large areas of sandy soil and in making the desert bloom. We wish them
every success in their noble endeavours to develop their land and water resources and increase agricultural
production. We are only too anxious to hear our distinguished colleagues report on their recent research
developments in the field of land reclamation and management.
It has become commonplace to say, and repeat saying, that scarcity of water resources is the most severe
constraint to the impetus of agricultural development. Yet this fact pervades omnipotently in our minds The

increasingly serious situation relating to the world-wide decline of water resources has been amply focused by
the important document, Water Problems affecting Agriculture Development presented to the recent
Seventeenth Session of the FAO Conference. Indeed, this could provide the guidelines for a collective approach
for efficient water use, water conservation and salinity control in sandy soils and for that matter, to other soil
types.
No matter how much we can do by ourselves on the national level, whether it be research or development, it is
never enough. In a spirit of true cooperation, we in this region of the world., proud of nurturing all past and
present civilizations and cultures, must join in an action-oriented effort to attack and solve the problems that
beset land and water development.
If on the national level we can, and must, pursue agricultural development as a multi-dimensional concept,
encompassing the economic, social, institutional and physical elements of development, in a wider sense, it
would be relatively easy to effect the necessary adjustments for a truly effective cooperation on the regional
basis. This is fully consonant with our official position taken and the full support of the concept of international
agricultural adjustment at the recent Seventeenth FAO Conference.
In concluding, I wish you every success in your deliberations and a very pleasant stay in Cyprus.

2. Dr. M. H. Abbas, on behalf of the Director-General of FAO

Mr. Chairman, Honourable Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my privilege to address you, on behalf of the Director-General of the Pood and Agricultural Organization of
the United Nations, Dr. A H. Boerma, and welcome the participants to this Seminar on the Reclamation and
management of Sandy Soils in the Near East and North Africa Regions.
The Director-General requested me to express, on his behalf, our thanks and gratitude to the Government of the
Republic of Cyprus for hosting this Seminar and for all the facilities which will undoubtedly highly contribute to the
success of this Seminar. This magnificent meeting room with all modern interpretation equipment is but one
example of these facilities.
I wish to take this opportunity to welcome the participants from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia and the
representative of the Arab League; these participants have joined this series of technical seminars for the first
time.
I also wish to welcome Mr. Pavicic, the Resident Representative of the UNDP in Cyprus, and wish to thank this
Programme for financing the Seminar. Mr. Pavicic will address you soon, on behalf of the United Nations
Development Programme.
Mr. Chairman, Honourable Delegates, it should be pointed out that this Seminar was held in accordance with the
recommendation of the Regional Commission on Land and Water Use in the Near East. In fact, this is the fourth
seminar held under the auspices of FAO. The first seminar dealt with improvement of saline and waterlogged
soils and was held in Baghdad in December 1970. The second seminar dealt with efficient use of water at the
farm level and was held in December 1971. The third was held in Cairo in December 1972 and dealt with
reclamation and management of calcareous soils.
Mr. Chairman, in view of the large areas in this region which are covered by sandy soils and sand dunes, and in
view of the limited available cultivable areas, it becomes necessary to expand agricultural lands into some of the
sandy soils. Therefore, it becomes essential to find out the ways and means of utilizing and maintaining this
natural resource; of course, this is the purpose of this Seminar. I may add that there is a prevailing idea which
indicates the high cost of the reclamation and management of sandy soils. With modem agricultural practices, it
may, however, be economic to use some of these sandy soils.
There is another important consideration and that is the population growth which might necessitate the utilization
of some of these sandy soils even though the cost of their reclamation and management may reach noneconomic limits.
On this occasion I should like to advise that the latest figures available to FAO indicate that about 40% of the total
area of the Near East is covered by sandy soils. Thus from the total area of about 13 million m, sandy soils cover
an area of about 5 million m.

Mr. Chairman, improvement and reclamation of sandy soils are not difficult to achieve in view of the advanced
techniques in land reclamation and use of fertilizers and other inputs. We will have the opportunity to listen to
experts at this Seminar on this matter. I am confident that the discussions held during the Seminar will lead us at
the end to important technical conclusions on the subject of reclamation and management of sandy soils.
In conclusion, I should like to wish you, on behalf of the Director-General of FAO, every success in your work.
On behalf of the Administrator of UNDP, it is my pleasure and privilege to welcome to Cyprus all the distinguished
participants to this UNDP/FAO Seminar.
He know that, basically, the main purpose of the Seminar is to exchange ideas. And participating in this exchange
will be, on the one hand, senior Government officials and, on the other, high level experts of international repute.
The result, it is hoped, will be to the benefit of those countries represented here, which are involved in the
reclamation and management of sandy soils.
Frankly, as a layman I do not know very much about sandy soils, but I know one good example how sandy soil
has become good and fertile land. A great majority of you will remember an eminent colleague, Dr. Abdel Razzak
Sidky, ex Minister of Agriculture in Egypt and retired Assistant Director-General of FAO for the Middle East
Region.
Dr. Sidky, whom I had the pleasure to meet in 1965 in Egypt, had a piece of land behind the Pyramids. I cannot
recollect the exact year, but I think it was in 1963/64, when Dr. Sidky sent samples of his land for analysis, and
the reply was: Pure sand. Despite the disappointing news, Dr. Sidky continued to investigate all possibilities for
the improvement of his land. At first, he brought water and then fertilizers. He planted tangerines, lemon trees
and orange trees; later he planted mangoes. The whole operation from the very beginning was approached in a
full scientific manner and today, after ten years, Dr. Sidky has an economic and sound project of his own on exsandy soil, with good profit and excellent prospects.
This example shows, I think, what can be achieved when perseverance and a scientific approach are joined in
marriage. Perhaps, it may also be a headline for other people - private entrepreneurs, co-operatives, and others.
But let me return to the work of the Seminar. Personally, I feel one absorbs information best when the
surroundings are congenial. Here, on the island of Aphrodite, you have the most pleasant framework possible. As
hosts, you have an obliging and hospitable Government, on an island renowned for its beauty. As if this were not
enough, at your disposal are new conference room facilities, of which you are the first international clients.
You carry with you the best wishes of UNDP for a productive and successful Seminar, and a pleasant stay
amongst us.
Welcome to the 5th annual gathering of the American Car Enthusiasts. It is great to see so many enthusiastic
men and women here celebrating the genius and innovation of American car manufacturers over the years. It
has been a long time since Henry Ford got the ball rolling and look how far we've come! Are you happy to be
here?
ACE is pleased to host this conference in Detroit this year where we will have the opportunity to see the best
cars America has had to offer, past and present!
I know that many of you have traveled from quite a distance and I'd like to acknowledge our members from
Alaska, Hawaii and even Guam who have made this long trip to participate in the largest, most extensive ACE
conference we have ever had.
Among the activities we have planned are workshops about the evolution of individual car models such as the
Thunderbird and the Mustang as well as demonstrations of the performance characteristics of our newest
American offerings.
- See more at: http://www.best-speech-topics.com/free-welcome-speech.html#sthash.hWT01L7s.dpuf