Read-out of the bilateral meeting between FAO Director-General, and Minister of Agriculture of Uzbekistan, Jamshid Khodjaev

Rome - The FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, and the Minister of Agriculture of Uzbekistan, Jamshid Khodjaev, met on Friday to discuss the strengthening relationship between FAO and Uzbekistan.

The Minister of Agriculture underlined the importance of FAO in transforming national agrifood systems, especially regarding the new food security challenges the world is facing now. He noted that Uzbekistan chairmanship of the European Regional Conference for the period 2020-2022 was very beneficial for the country. The Minister confirmed his country’s commitment to fully engage in collaboration with FAO, including work on climate, sustainable forest management, drought and salinity stress response, desert biodiversity, beekeeping, smart farming and locust management.

The Director-General thanked Minister Khodjaev for the continued support of Uzbekistan and for the Minister’s  regional leadership provided as Chair of FAO 32d Regional Conference for Europe. He expressed FAO’s reediness to continue providing technical support to Uzbekistan to ensure more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems. He referred to the two thematic strategies that will guide FAO’s work on climate change and on science, technology and innovation over the next decade, which were endorsed by the FAO Council this week.

During the meeting, Minister Khodjaev has signed two new GEF projects, which are focusing on Sustainable Forest and Rangelands Management in Dryland Ecosystems and on Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration Impact. FAO is currently supporting the Government through three national GEF-funded projects (USD 13 million) and one regional GEF project (USD 11 million).

Also during the visit of the Minister, the Uzbekistan Lounge was inaugurated. The Uzbekistan Lounge, located on the 8th floor, overlooks the historical view of Rome, in particular, the ancient Terme di Caracalla.  The Lounge project is inspired by the “Silk Road” in Central Asia and it follows the local cultural contrasts with modern and technologically advanced materials and equipment, with visual traditional forms that reflect the history and culture of the country. From now onwards, all FAO staff and FAO Members will be able to come to the Uzbekistan Lounge and the adjacent restaurant.