Damascus, July 6 (SANA)A national workshop on food safety governance opened inDamascuson Monday, bringing together government officials, United Nations representatives and industry stakeholders to discuss strengthening Syria’s food safety system.

The workshop, organized by theMinistry of Economy and Industryin cooperation with theUnited Nations Industrial Development Organization(UNIDO), is reviewing the current state of food safety governance in Syria, national priorities and challenges, as well as a proposed UNIDO technical cooperation project aimed at improving coordination among government institutions, UN agencies and development partners.

Speaking at the workshop, Deputy Minister of Economy and IndustryMaher al-Hassansaid that developing an effective food safety system is essential to supporting Syria’s economic recovery, improving the competitiveness of national products and protecting consumer health.

He said the government is working to modernize the legislative and regulatory framework governing food safety, strengthen coordination among national institutions, and enhance quality infrastructure, laboratory capacity and inspection systems in line with international standards.

Al-Hassan added that the proposed cooperation project withUNIDOwould help strengthen institutional capacity, develop food safety policies and legislation, improve inspection and risk management systems, and build technical expertise.

Arab Food Industries Union Chairman Haitham Jaffal said Syria’s food industry has strong competitive potential, citing the diversity of its products, the quality of its raw materials and its manufacturing expertise.He added that promoting a culture of food safety, developing human capital, modernizing laboratories and inspection systems, and encouraging innovation are essential to building a sustainable, competitive food industry and expanding export opportunities. He stressed the importance of implementing internationally recognized food safety standards to strengthen the sector’s competitiveness.