Bilateral meeting with the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Türkiye - His Excellency Ibrahim Yumakli

Samarkand – FAO Director-General QU Dongyu and His Excellency Ibrahim Yumakli, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Türkiye, met on the sidelines of the International Conference on Food Security (ICFS), which took place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on 7-8 September 2023.

The Minister congratulated the Director-General on his successful re-election, expressing confidence that during his term, FAO will make significant progress in achieving its core mandate of eradicating global hunger and poverty.

The Minister briefly informed about some activities carried out in Türkiye in the area of food security, highlighting the importance of the Black Sea Grain Initiative  for food security.

The Minister mentioned that over the years, Türkiye has benefited from FAO's extensive assistance and highlighted that Türkiye is also an important resource partner for FAO, providing significant technical and financial support.

The Minister reminded that 11 provinces of Türkiye and almost 13 million people were directly affected by the earthquake in February 2023 and expressed hope for the continued support from international partners, particularly FAO, to ensure full recovery in the agricultural regions.

The Director-General thanked the Minister for the briefing and reaffirmed FAO’s willingness to strengthen cooperation with Türkiye. He noted that Türkiye is an important member of the G20 group and appreciated the nation for providing significant technical and financial support to FAO, emphasizing the crucial role Türkiye plays in the region and subregion.