New York – Director-General QU Dongyu met today with Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The Director-General expressed his appreciation to the Under-Secretary-General for DESA’s support to the mandate of FAO, while also stating that FAO and DESA need to do more, and better, to support farmers. He also called on DESA to scale up its support to FAO given the lead role the Organization plays in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1 and SDG 2 in particular.
The Director-General also expressed his hope that the Under-Secretary General could visit FAO and that DESA would participate in the World Food Forum, the Science and Innovation Forum, and the Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum, which will all take place in Rome, Italy during the week of 17-21 October.
The Under-Secretary-General expressed his thanks for the invitation, while also commending the Director-General for the excellent work done since he took office in advocating for SDGs 1 and 2, among others. He also indicated that DESA would look at how to enhance its coordination with FAO on food security matters and poverty alleviation, in order to support achievement of the 2030 Agenda. In this respect, he also noted the need for the broader UN system and its membership to re-double efforts to achieve the SDGs.
The Under-Secretary-General went on to highlight FAO’s success in hosting the UN Food Systems Summit in 2021, and also expressed appreciation to FAO for hosting DESA’s office in Rome at FAO headquarters.
