FAO Director-General met Dr David Nabarro Strategic Director, 4SD (Skills, Systems and Synergies for Sustainable Development)

Today, 2 March 2021, the FAO Director-General, Mr QU Dongyu, and Dr David Nabarro Strategic Director, 4SD, had a virtual meeting, to discuss FAO’s role in global efforts for Agri-Food Systems Transformation and the Organization’s support to the preparatory work for the UN Food Systems Summit 2021.

The meeting discussed the ongoing Member States’ Dialogue that are organized by Dr Nabarro’s team with extensive support from FAO’s headquarter technical units, decentralized offices and other Rome-Based UN agencies.

There was full agreement on the value of close cooperation at country level to bring all key stakeholders together, with a focus on cross-sectoral consultation due to the overarching nature of agri-food systems transformation.

Dr Nabarro underlined the critical role FAO regional and subregional offices have played so far, and the strong support he has received from them. Dr Nabarro further stressed on FAO’s convening power at national level and the fact that the Organization is in many cases leading from behind to bring the national governments and institutions to the centre of the agenda and discussion.

The meeting highlighted the importance of Member States’ Dialogue for designing a roadmap and advocating for national commitments towards agri-food systems transformation. More importantly, the interaction between the results produced by the five actions tracks including the game-changing propositions as well as the outcomes of the Dialogues were stressed as critical for the Summit.

The FAO Director-General appreciated Dr Nabarro’s lifelong contribution to the interlinked sectors of health, nutrition, food and environment, inviting him to work closely with FAO in bringing his knowledge and expertise to future strategic priorities of the Organization.