Bilateral meeting with the President and Chair of the Islamic Development Bank Group - Dr Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser

Rome - Director-General QU Dongyu and Dr Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, President and Chair of the Islamic Development Bank Group, met on the margins of the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment 24-26 July at FAO Headquarters.

The President began by congratulating the Director-General for his re-election and thanked him for the collaboration between the two organizations, affirming that he looked forward to a boosted partnership in the future. Specifically, he highlighted the need to support Members transform agrifood systems, which are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis and conflict. In this context, he noted that knowledge-sharing and capacity-building initiatives are fundamental.

The Director-General thanked the President and reiterated his commitment to renewed momentum and partnership. He highlighted the huge potential of agrifood systems transformation for Members and explained that this can be facilitated by fostering South-South Cooperation, and proposed leveraging of existing platforms for collaboration (such as the Hand in Hand initiative and upcoming World Food Forum), reiterating FAO’s continued technical assistance support.

The two also agreed on key strategic priorities to support agrifood systems transformation, through increased production and value addition targeted to rural areas and smallholder farmers.