Queen Letizia of Spain meets with FAO’s Director-General

11 December 2019, Madrid – Queen Letizia of Spain in a meeting today with FAO Director-General QU Dongyu expressed her interest for FAO's Hand-in-Hand Initiative. 

The Queen, who is an FAO Special Goodwill Ambassador for Nutrition, was briefed by the Director-General on the Hand-in-Hand Initiative which aims to create "matchmaking" between donors and recipients to support tailor-made, targeted efforts to assist vulnerable people in the Developing Countries, as well as those affected by food crises.

Asked by Queen Letizia about the recently-established Youth Committee and Women’s Committee at FAO, the Director-General said these are part of the strong emphasis he is placing on the development of young talent at the UN agency, as well as ensuring that the contribution of women at all levels of the organization is valued and promoted accordingly, and to ensure this.

Both committees, Qu explained, can also promote exchange between member states to enhance the participation of women and young people in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.