Bilateral meeting with the Vice-President and Minister of Equality and Equity of the Republic of Colombia - Her Excellency Francia Elena Márquez Mina

Rome - FAO Director-General QU Dongyu met today with the Vice-President and Minister of Equality and Equity of the Republic of Colombia, Her Excellency Francia Elena Márquez Mina, at FAO headquarters in Rome.

The Vice-President conveyed her appreciation to the FAO Director-General for the support to the Republic of Colombia and highlighted the severity of hunger worldwide and particularly in Colombia where 15 million people suffer hunger or malnutrition. She emphasized the need for FAO’s assistance to support the development of Colombia’s potential to assist small farmers and their right to food, especially indigenous peoples, women, youth, and Afro-descendants.

The Director-General welcomed the Vice-President to FAO and noted that through technology and digitalization, as well as through FAO flagship initiatives such as the Hand-in-Hand and the Once Country One Priority Product (OCOP), productivity could be increased, and the livelihoods of smallholder and rural farmers improved.

The pair further exchanged views on the importance of enhancing production and productivity through technical support and innovations to increase value and achieve the transformation of agrifood systems.

The Director-General and the Vice-President reiterated their collective will to strengthen the partnership between the Organization and the Republic of Colombia, and to join forces and work together towards common objectives.