Bilateral meeting with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Public Service of The Bahamas – T.H. Frederick Mitchell

Rome - The FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, today received the visit of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Public Service of The Bahamas, The Hon. Frederick Mitchell, at FAO headquarters in Rome.

The Minister and the Director-General discussed ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation. Qu highlighted that supporting Small Island Developing States (SIDS) has been one of FAO’s priorities since he took office as Director-General in 2019, when he also established the FAO’s Office of Small Island Developing States, Least Developed Countries and Landlocked Developing Countries (OSL).

Minister Mitchell also mentioned the losses caused by Hurricane Dorian in 2019, whose impacts are still being felt today, and expressed concern about international food price inflation.

The Director-General noted that small islands and other countries that are dependent on food imports should seek to increase the local production of some perishable foods, such as vegetables, which would also contribute to improving nutrition and promoting healthy diets.

Qu also highlighted the importance of tackling food loss and waste and the benefits of aquaculture.