Readout of the Director-General's bilateral meeting with H.E. Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Rome - Today, the FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu met with H.E. Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

The Director-General congratulated the Government of Egypt and Minister Shoukry for the successful organization of the UN Climate Conference (COP27), and the leadership in reaching an agreement among negotiating parties.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt expressed his appreciation for the strong participation of FAO in COP27. He thanked the Director-General for the support provided by FAO to the Egyptian presidency of COP27 and the close cooperation in formulating several initiatives linked to agriculture and food security, in particular the Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation (FAST), which was launched on the Adaptation and Agriculture Day.

The Minister also expressed his appreciation for the ongoing cooperation between FAO and Egypt, including through South-South Cooperation among African countries. The Director-General thanked the Government of Egypt for supporting FAO, through hosting the Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (RNE) and the Country Office, and for supporting FAO’s work on the priorities in the region.

The Director-General and the Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized the importance of supporting countries in dealing with the food security impacts of the war in Ukraine.

 The Director-General invited Egypt to participate in the World Food Forum in October 2023 and suggested discussing possible cooperation with the World Youth Forum that is hosted by Egypt annually.

The Director-General and Minister Shoukry agreed to consolidate bilateral cooperation further, including in the implementation of the COP27 Presidency initiatives related to food security and agriculture.