Read-out of the bilateral meeting between FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, and Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, Minister of International Development of Norway
Today the FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, met in Rome with Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, Minister of International Development of Norway.
The Director-General complimented Minister Tvinnereim for her statement at the Security Council meeting on conflict and food security on 19 May 2022 in New York, and for underlining the value of investing in agriculture.
Both agreed that in addition to humanitarian efforts, investments in food production and resilience must be scaled up. The Minister thanked FAO for the invaluable work of the Organization in addressing global food security and agrifood systems transformation.
The Minister congratulated the Director-General for the recently endorsed two thematic strategies respectively on Climate Change and on Science and Innovation, which will guide FAO’s work in these areas until 2031. It’s the first time in FAO history that two strategies were endorsed during one council. The Minister underlined the importance of mitigation and adaptation, and that the climate crisis can only be addressed if all actors contribute and work together.
The pair further discussed the upcoming UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, that seeks to boost much needed science-based innovative solutions. This includes investing in transformative and innovative fisheries management, transforming and upgrading fish value chains, making aquatic food an indispensable component of food security and nutrition strategies, and ensuring the protection of the more than 600 million livelihoods that depend on fisheries and aquaculture.
They agreed that aquaculture has a big potential for developing countries to produce sustainable and nutritious food. The Director-General invited Norway to use FAO as a neutral platform to share their knowledge and experience, and for supporting the UN Food System Coordination Hub as a way to support action and coordination amongst all actors.