Bilateral meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Eswatini - His Excellency Themba N. Masuku

Rome - Director-General QU Dongyu and His Excellency Themba N. Masuku, Deputy Prime Minister of The Kingdom of Eswatini, met on the margins of the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment taking place at FAO Headquarters from 24 to 26 July 2023.

The Deputy Prime Minister congratulated the Director-General for his re-election for a second term and thanked him for his strong leadership and vision during his first term. He shared with the Director-General the details of the country’s Agricultural Development Fund that was launched with FAO’s support and the Eswatini Bank to address critical financing gaps in the agriculture sector and create an enabling environment for farmers and agribusinesses.

The Deputy Prime Minister informed the Director-General that the focus will be on the agricultural sector through building value chains to attract youth through digitalization and innovation to support achieving food security.

The Director-General thanked the Deputy Prime Minister and reiterated the strong commitment of the Organization to support the Kingdom of Eswatini. He proceed to applaud the Deputy Prime Minister for the priority being given to youth and value addition, which he reiterated are key drivers to transform agrifood systems.  

The Director-General and the Deputy Prime Minister shared ideas on the increased need for value addition, and post-harvest management to transform the agrifood systems.