Read-out of the FAO Director-General’s meeting with Ambassador Peter Thomson, UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean

Lisbon - FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu today met Ambassador Peter Thomson, UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean, at the sidelines of the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) taking place in Lisbon from 27 June till 1 July 2022.

The Director-General expressed his appreciation for Ambassador Thomson’s leadership and his crucial role in the success of the Conference and reiterated FAO's continued support for achieving SDG14 using science-based innovative solutions. Qu expressed FAO's readiness to further support Ambassador Thomson in the concerted effort to build momentum for action in international fora, including COP27 and the Convention on Biodiversity Conference.

Ambassador Thomson expressed his appreciation for the active role of FAO in supporting the United Nations Ocean Conference. He commended the FAO flagship publication, the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report 2022 (SOFIA), an important reference for governments, policymakers, academics, and others in the fisheries and aquaculture sector on the status of global stocks as well as trends in fisheries and aquaculture at a global and regional level. 

Ambassador Thomson also highlighted the work of FAO in Blue Transformation, which has the potential to enhance food systems under water and feed the world's growing population sustainably.

The two shared the view that the UNOC comes at a critical time, which requires major structural transformation and common shared solutions anchored in the SDGs, and agreed to continue their cooperation and coordination.