Read-out ot the meeting between the FAO Director-General and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Spain, Luis Planas Puchades

Lisbon– Today the FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, had a meeting in Lisbon with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Spain, Luis Planas Puchades, on the sidelines of the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC), which takes place in Lisbon from 27 June until 1 July 2022.

The Director-General appreciated the continued partnership between FAO and the Kingdom of Spain in supporting the priorities and objectives of the Organization. In this regard, Qu particularly referred to Spain's support of the fisheries and aquaculture sector, the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), and the FAO Associate Professional Officer (APO) programme.

The Minister expressed his appreciation to the Director-General for his leadership in supporting the transformation of agrifood systems to be more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable. He also appreciated the FAO response to the impacts of the war in Ukraine on food security and the high-quality data and analyses produced by FAO in this context.

The Director-General and the Minister agreed to join efforts in preparation for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) in November this year. 

The two also discussed possible cooperation in support of food security objectives in developing countries building on each other's comparative advantages, especially in water management, irrigation, and making use of scientific and technological innovation for developing sustainable and productive agrifood systems.