[1] In September 2011, Qatari diplomat Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser first publicly brought up the idea of forming a group for dryland countries at a United Nations (U.N.) meeting as a way to help improve food security.
[3] Qatari capital Doha played host to a meeting of sixteen prospective member countries and various potential partner groups in September 2012.
[4] The next year, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani pledged a full committal to the formation of the GDA at the 68th U.N. General Assembly.
[5] At the Ministerial Conference on Food Security in Drylands held in May 2015 in Marrakesh, Morocco, a draft establishment treaty of the GDA was presented to the delegations in attendance.
[2] According to the GDA, one-third of the world's population live in drylands, which make up roughly 40% of the Earth's land surface.