FAO Director-General and United Nations Executive Secretary for the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions agree to strengthen cooperation in the fields of soil and water

1 October 2019, Rome - FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu met today with  Rolph Payet, United Nations Executive Secretary for the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, who congratulated Dr. Qu on his successful election as Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). They agreed to strengthen the cooperation and work more closely together in the fields of soil and water.

The parties stressed the critical importance of tackling global soil pollution and its harmful consequences on human health, food safety and the environment, noting that soil pollution control is more challenging than air and water treatment.

The Executive Secretary for the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions expressed wish to support FAO in the promotion of paperless work within the Organization.

They both reconfirmed their commitment to help developing countries build capacity, enhance their ability to understand, master, and utilize international agricultural standards.

The FAO Director-General and Dr. Payet strongly believe in digital technology as an essential tool for agricultural development and agreed to explore ways to further enhance specific cooperation on digital agriculture.