ROME, DECEMBER 2 – FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, met today at FAO headquarters in Rome with Francesco Lollobrigida, Minister for Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry of Italy.
The Director-General thanked Italy for being host to FAO since 1951, and expressed his gratitude for the Minister’s expression of support for FAO’s work, indicating he looks forward to continuing the close cooperation with Italy on food security to help countries most in need.
The pair also discussed the close collaboration between FAO and Italy in support of countries in the Mediterranean region, and in particular the Director-General recognized the constructive collaboration within the context of the Mediterranean Dialogues. On Saturday 3 December, the Director-General will participate in the 2nd Ministerial Mediterranean Dialogue on the Food Crisis, convened by Italy in the framework of the Global Alliance on Food Security (GAFS).
The Director-General further mentioned FAO’s readiness to help map a pathway out of the global food crisis through the IMF “Food Shock Window” by providing emergency financing for countries facing balance-of-payments problems related to the global food affordability crisis. He noted it was very much in line with FAO’s own proposed Food Import Financing Facility (FIFF) responding to soaring food import costs and addressing the needs of the most exposed countries.
During the meeting, Minister Lollobrigida recalled the ongoing close collaboration between FAO and Italy, including through the work of the G20 and G7, and specifically mentioned the Food Coalition, a global alliance for food security and nutrition, and to promote the transformation of agrifood systems. Italy held the G20 presidency in 2021 and will host the G7 Summit in 2024.
In that respect, the Director-General reaffirmed FAO’s availability to collaborate towards the Italian G7 Presidency in 2024 and to advance the common agenda of achieving global food security through agri-food systems transformation and poverty eradication. (@OnuItalia)