FAO Director-General meets Mariam Chabi Talata Zimé Yérima, Vice President of the Republic of Benin

Rome - FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu today met Mariam Chabi Talata Zimé Yérima, Vice President of the Republic of Benin.

The Director-General welcomed the Vice President, who expressed her appreciation for the strong partnership with FAO. The meeting reiterated the importance of the good cooperation between FAO and the Republic of Benin.

The Vice President, who is in Italy to receive the Champion Award on behalf of the President for the School Feeding Programme, stressed the Government’s commitment to ensure that it feeds young children. She stressed that this is the first critical step to contribute to children’s better future but also create local jobs around agriculture.

The Vice President commended the Director-General for his vision and achievements. She noted that FAO is a valued partner for Benin. The Director-General and the Vice President exchanged views on joint evolving priorities and challenges while highlighting common areas of future engagement between FAO and the Republic of Benin. Key strategic priorities underlined included supporting agrifood systems transformation, through increased production and value addition. In particular, the two discussed how FAO could further support Benin to become more self-sufficient through FAO Hand in Hand initiative.

The Director-General and the Vice President agreed on continued strong partnership through the many ongoing programmes and projects, and the new opportunities to further cooperate.