Read-out of the FAO Director-General’s meeting with Lord Tariq Mahmood Ahmad, Minister for South Asia, North Africa, United Nations and the Commonwealth at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Norther

Rome - FAO Director-General QU Dongyu today met Lord Tariq Mahmood Ahmad, Minister for South Asia, North Africa, United Nations and the Commonwealth at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 

The pair discussed how to continue strengthening the partnership in view of the Government’s new International Development Strategy, as well as possible solutions for supporting the countries most affected by the food crisis and the war in Ukraine.

During the meeting, the FAO proposal on the Food Import Financing Facility (FIFF) was discussed as a critical tool to help economically vulnerable countries, in particular net food importers in the low and the lower middle-income groups, ease their food import bill. The Director-General underlined the importance of targeting assistance to the most vulnerable countries and ensuring appropriate measures that support smallholder farmers around the world highly impacted by the food crisis.

The meeting further discussed the critical role that the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) could play to address current challenges due to food insecurity, including funding and policy actions. 

The Director-General also thanked Lord Ahmad for his government’s vital support to many areas of FAO’s work, such as efforts in fighting the desert locust that has helped to safeguard the food security and livelihoods of vulnerable farmers and their families in Africa and Asia, as well FAO’s work in providing emergency humanitarian assistance to address food insecurity in Afghanistan. FAO is currently on track to reach more than 9 million people in Afghanistan in 2022, which represents more than 50 percent of all people in rural areas in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 3 and above.

The Director-General and Lord Ahmad agreed to further strengthen the existing excellent collaboration between FAO and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and continue working together on humanitarian and resilience interventions, especially in global hunger hotspots.