Readout of the Director-General’s meetings with high-level representatives from international organizations in Doha
Doha – On the sidelines of the 5th UN Conference on Least Developed Countries, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu met with the Director of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), Dima Al-Khatib (photo); the Director-General of the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation (INBAR), Ali Mchumo; the Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Gerd Müller; and the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), Michael W. Lodge.
Qu also attended the inauguration of the UN House and the India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Alleviation Poverty and Hunger Alleviation (IBSA Fund) ribbon cutting ceremony.
In the meeting with UNOSS, the Director-General reiterated his lifelong commitment to South-South Cooperation (SSC) and introduced FAO’s work on SSC. The Director of UNOSSC expressed her appreciation for FAO’s support to and achievements in SSC. She expressed interest in the Director-General’s proposal on cross-continental cooperation. Further cooperation through FAO’s Hand in Hand Initiative (HiH) and the World Food Forum was also discussed.
In the meeting with the Director-General of INBAR, QU recalled his professional experiences with the forestry and bamboo industry, and suggested FAO and INBAR, together with agencies like World Forestry Centre/CGIAR, cooperate with a focus on the value chain development. The Director-General of INBAR requested FAO’s technical support for its Bamboo as a Substitute for Plastic Initiative. The two agreed on strengthening collaboration in areas including the Great Green Wall Initiative, SSTC and in conducting pilot projects on bamboo.
In the meeting with ISA, the FAO Director-General reiterated his willingness to strengthen collaboration with the organization and they agreed to develop a MoU to enhance cooperation on capacity building, science and innovation, aquatic biodiversity and data, as well as for seconding staff.
In the meeting with UNIDO, the Director-General highlighted that the future of agrifood systems requires a holistic approach, which covers climate change, agricultural production, value chain efficiency, inclusion, nutrition, land use, biodiversity and other areas He suggested both organizations, and possibly together with other partners, create synergies, pull resources and conduct joint projects in ten selected countries, by focusing on a local commodity across the entire value chain from production to processing to markets, to achieve agrifood systems transformation. The Director-General also offered FAO Country Offices to host UNIDO staff.