Readout of the Director-General’s bilateral meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs of Slovenia, Tanja Fajon

Rome - Today the FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, met at FAO headquarters in Rome with Tanja Fajon, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia.

The Director-General thanked the Minister for Slovenia’s staunch support for effective multilateralism with the UN system, and its engagement within multilateral fora.

The Minister expressed her appreciation for FAO’s support for World Bee Day 2022, celebrated under the theme: Honey for Hope, and looked forward to building on this collaboration for the next commemoration that will take place on 20 May 2023. On this day, beekeeping events are held to highlight the importance of bees and beekeeping.

The Minister mentioned that Slovenia has a strong network of beekeepers. Bees are one of the most important pollinators and contribute to food security and sustainable agrifood systems.

Slovenia has provided support and policy advocacy for the World Bee Day since its establishment in 2018. The Director-General underlined the important role Slovenia can play in supporting countries’ bee industry development.

The Minister also mentioned that Slovenia has been advocating for a comprehensive approach to water, and values FAO’s expertise in water management for the green transition, food security and nutrition.

The Director-General commended Slovenia for assuming its responsibility within the international community for ensuring food security in the poorest countries.