FAO Brussels launches a dedicated Series of Caribbean Dialogues

Upon invitation by H.E. Ambassador Gilbêrt van Lierop, Suriname’s Representative in Brussels and Chair of the CARIFORUM Group of Ambassadors in Brussels, an FAO-CARIFORUM Dialogue took place at the Embassy of the Republic of Suriname in Belgium. 

Renata Clarke, FAO’s Subregional Representative and Coordinator for the Caribbean delivered a presentation from Bridgetown, Barbados, on the regional situation of food security, rural development, and agrifood systems as well as FAO’s activities in the region.  

Delivering her presentation from Bridgetown, Clarke touched upon a wide range of topics including nutrition, soil management, renewable energy, animal feed and traceability, value chain development as well as fisheries, and aquaculture. She also gave an overview of FAO’s planned actions for the biennium 2024-2025 including  upscaling water access with renewable energy solutions and expanding precision agriculture, soil monitoring, subregional aquaculture facilities and climate-smart technologies to boost agriculture, food security and nutrition in the region.  

In his welcoming remarks, Raschad Al-Khafaji, Director of the FAO Liaison Office in Brussels, thanked Ambassador van Lierop for hosting the exchange and highlighted the need to further strengthen conversation and cooperation between FAO and the CARIFORUM Members in Brussels. He noted that the ‘Caribbean Dialogues’ in Brussels will also serve to ensure keeping the Ambassadors updated on relevant regional events, trends and information related to FAO’s mandate, citing the upcoming 38th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean (LARC), which will be held in Guyana in March 2024 as an example.