FAO and Belgium discuss collaboration and governance plans
09/09/2019
9 September 2019, Rome – FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu met with Bruno van Der Pluijm, Secretary General of Belgium’s Federal Public Service of Foreign Affairs, today to discuss how to bolster the strong collaboration between Belgium and the Organization.
The Director-General expressed his appreciation for the valuable support and voluntary contributions made by Belgium.
Van Der Pluijm noted that he was highly satisfied with the measures and actions undertaken by the Director-General in his first six weeks in office.
Expanding collaboration on digital farming and innovation in agriculture, a priority for both Belgium and FAO, figured prominently in the talks.
The discussion also focused on longer-term governance issues. Van Der Pluijm emphasized that Belgium will strongly support the reform of human resources management at the Organization, adding that his government would like to participate substantively in building the Director-General’s vision for FAO ahead of the multi-year funding plan to be revisited in 2020.