Readout of the Director-General’s bilateral meeting with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro
Buenos Aires – FAO Director-General QU Dongyu met with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, on the sidelines of the 7th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
During the meeting the parties signed a Letter of Intent in which they agreed to strengthen joint work and cooperation between FAO and the Government of Colombia.
Areas identified by the Government requiring FAO’s technical assistance include the development of public policies against hunger and malnutrition for the socio-economic development of border areas, the development and implementation of the county’s Plan against Hunger, as well as support for family farming, land tenure, market access, public procurement and agricultural extension.
President Petro noted that Colombia is focusing on the concept of food sovereignty, in which countries would be able to increase and improve their food production.
The Director-General for his part noted the importance of producing more with less and highlighted that Colombia has fertile lands and a rich biodiversity. Qu also encouraged Colombia to make greater use of FAO as a platform to exchange knowledge and expertise with other countries, citing the World Food Forum that takes place every October at FAO headquarters in Rome.