Romania reiterates support for FAO-led programmes aimed at achieving the SDGs

18 January 2020, Berlin – FAO Director-General QU Dongyu and Romania’s Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Nechita-Adrian Oros met today for talks that focused on strengthening joint efforts aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda.

During their discussion on the sidelines of the Global Forum for Food and  Agriculture, Minister Oros said Romania will continue to sustain FAO-led programmes, because of what he described as the excellent partnership between his country and the UN agency. He cited as an example the adoption by schools in Romania of a FAO-designed initiative to reduce food waste, one that he noted could be shared with other countries.

Commenting on the what he said was an excellent collaboration with the FAO Liaison Office with the European Union in Brussels, particularly during Romania’s presidency of the EU during the first half of 2019, and FAO’s Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia in Budapest, Minister Oros said his country looked forward to actively participating in FAO’s Regional Conference for Europe in Tashkent from 5-7 May 2020.

For his part, the FAO Director-General thanked Minister Oros for his support and noted that Romania has much expertise to share with other countries, for example in the areas of food safety and policies for smallholder farmers. 

In this context, the FAO Director-General noted Romania can actively contribute to the work of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe, including through knowledge transfers and best practices.