Mr Al Khayyat’s brother, Ramez, is the company’s president. The project will be mostly on land in the Euphrates River Basin leased from the Syrian government, Mr Al Abdullah said this week. Syria has the soil, diverse climate, enough water in the Euphrates and an accumulation of farming knowledge, as well as regional markets, said Mr Al Abdullah. Mr Al Abdullah said additional funding would partly come from international banks. “Having the resources alone is not enough to ensure food security and self-sufficiency,” Mr Al Abdullah said.