Bilateral meeting with the Governor of the State of Pará, Brazil, H.E. Helder Barbalho

Rome – The FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, met with the Governor of the State of Pará in Brazil, H.E. Helder Barbalho, on the sidelines of the World Food Forum, which is taking place at FAO headquarters in Rome from 16 to 20 October.

The Governor thanked the Director-General for FAO’s support in the organization of the Amazon Summit earlier this year. He highlighted that the Government of Pará, in line with the Brazilian Federal Government, is focused on promoting socio-bioeconomy as a vector for the development of the Amazon Forest, to prevent deforestation, support forest dwellers, and promote research on biodiversity.

In this regard, he noted that the Government of Pará will present a strategy for the Amazon region at COP 28 in November 2023 in Dubai, with a view to mobilizing international resources and in preparation for COP 30 in Pará in 2025. The Governor stressed that the preservation of tropical forests is a global concern and that developed countries in the Global North must finance nations in the Global South to conserve their forests.

The Director-General underlined the importance of working together to achieve common goals and concrete results on the ground. He said that FAO is ready to continue supporting Brazil in the coming years, especially during Brazil's presidency of the G20 in 2024, BRICS, and COP 30 in 2025.