ROME, MARCH 30 – FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, met at FAO headquarters in Rome with Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy. The pair agreed to continue and further strengthen the excellent relations between FAO and Italy, working collectively to achieve common objectives, also within the context of key global fora such as the G7 among others.
The Director-General thanked the Prime Minister for the special relationship between FAO and the host country Italy, and for the strong and effective partnership in jointly tackling hunger and malnutrition, especially in the context of the current global food crisis. The Prime Minister underlined the key role that food and agriculture plays in addressing these and other key global challenges.
The pair discussed the ongoing collaboration between FAO and Italy to transform agrifood systems and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, with a special focus on support to Africa and the Mediterranean area. In that respect, the Director-General thanked Italy for organizing the Ministerial Mediterranean Dialogue on the Food Security Crisis, which stressed the importance of rural investments to help young farmers. They further discussed the key role of young people and women, especially in the most vulnerable countries, in rural development.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed Italy’s full commitment and support for the Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Moment in July this year in Rome. The Director-General thanked Italy for co-hosting this important event to be held at FAO headquarters, and recalled the successful Food Systems Pre-Summit that was held in 2021 in Rome at FAO. The Director-General further reiterated the fundamental importance of agricultural development to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
