The Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa (AARINENA) was established in 1985 to strengthen cooperation among national, regional and international research institutions and centers through the dissemination and exchange of information, experiences and research results.
Its mission is to contribute to the enhancement of agricultural and rural development in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) Region. By fostering agricultural research and technology development and by strengthening collaboration within and outside the region, AARINENA aims to achieve greater degree of self-reliance in food and agriculture, and to improve the nutritional well-being and overall welfare of the people of the NENA Region while sustaining and further improving the productive capacity of the natural resources base.
The Region sub-divide into the following five sub-regions:
- Maghreb Sub-Region: Territories of Algeria, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia.
- Nile Valley and Red Sea Sub-Region: Territories of Djibouti, Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen.
- Mashreq Sub-Region: Territories of Cyprus, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria.
- Arabian Peninsula Sub-Region: Territories of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates.
- West Asian Sub-Region: Territories of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey.