FAO and Finland underscore joint commitment towards sustainable food systems transformation

17 September 2020, Rome – During an online meeting today FAO Director-General QU Dongyu and Elina Kalkku, Finland’s Under-Secretary for Development Policy, stressed that innovation and environmentally-friendly agriculture are needed in order to make food systems more resilient. 

They agreed to work closely together to achieve sustainable food system transformation and noted the importance of risk management and disaster risk reduction.

During the discussion, Under-Secretary Kalkku recognized the work FAO is doing on the Hand-in-Hand initiative, digitalization and partnerships with the private sector. In particular, she thanked FAO for its work in relation to the International Year of Plant Health 2020. She also congratulated the FAO Director-General for what she described as ‘an impressive first year in office’, building a more dynamic and accountable Organization, despite the difficulties related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under-Secretary Kalkku, also invited the FAO Director-General to Finland to attend the International Plant Health Conference, which is scheduled to be held in 2021, conditions related to COVID-19 permitting. She stressed that Finland strongly supports multilateralism and that international collaboration is key. Noting with concern how climate change is affecting food security she underscored how the forestry sector is part of the solution.

The FAO Director-General in turn expressed his gratitude for Finland’s support for FAO and mentioned how the country has a lot to offer and share in terms of technical expertise in order to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. He noted that Finland was also one of the first supporters of the Associate Professional Officers programme, which he said, helps to add value to the work of the UN system.