Read-out of the FAO Director-General’s meeting with H.E. Olivia Rouamba, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation and Burkinabe Abroad, Burkina Faso
The Minister thanked the Director-General for the focused consideration and attention that FAO is giving to Burkina Faso. She also requested FAO’s continued support considering the high number of internally displaced persons in the country (particularly in rural areas), coupled with the effects of the climate crisis and the high prevalence of food insecurity.
For his part the Director-General thanked the Minister for Burkina Faso’s ongoing support to the work of FAO, and re-affirmed FAO’s support to help Burkina Faso address the complex food security challenges it is facing.
During the meeting the Director-General and the Minister also discussed FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative. In particular, the Director-General highlighted the upcoming Investment Forum (18-19 October in Rome, Italy) - which is the crux of the Initiative's partnership-building effort - as it will provide a platform for national authorities to present impact investment opportunities to corporations, multilateral development banks and donors, with a focus on growth potential of the agriculture sector and national business opportunities.
The two also briefly touched upon the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit 2021 and noted that the UN Food Systems Follow-up Coordination Hub, which is in place to support Members to implement their national pathways, is hosted in FAO on behalf of the UN system.
The Director-General and the Minister also highlighted the importance of producing more food locally, while noting that South-South and Triangular Cooperation can support this endeavor and small farmers in particular.
They also touched upon the need to map and identify high potential agriculture areas, which allows for data-driven decision-making to support local food production and agrifood systems transformation in general.