Bilateral Meeting with H.E. El Sayed El-Quseir, Minister for Agriculture and Land Reclamation of Egypt

Cairo — During his official visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt the FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, met with H.E. El Sayed El-Quseir, Minister for Agriculture and Land Reclamation of Egypt.

During the meeting, the Director-General expressed his appreciation for the growing collaboration between Egypt and FAO, as well as for the long-standing support from Egypt to the Organization, including through hosting the FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa.

The Director-General gave an overview of the strategic objectives of the Organization in line with the FAO Strategic Framework and the “Four Betters”. He referred to the signed Country Programming Framework (CPF) 2023-2027, which would further contribute to the country’s efforts to achieve the SDGs and transform its agrifood system.  The Director-General also reaffirmed that FAO would continue to play a key role in providing the needed support to help the government deal with the impacts of the climate crisis on the agriculture sector.

The Minister appreciated the Director-General’s ongoing reforms of FAO, outlining that they were in line with the national strategic priorities set out in the Egypt Vision 2030. The Minister also appreciated FAO’s increased support, in particular for the Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation Initiative launched at COP27 that aims to mobilize financial resources to transform agrifood systems by 2030.  

The Minister also referred to the Government’s efforts to ensure sufficient, stable, and accessible food supplies, and to prioritize vulnerable rural populations through the Presidential Initiative, Haya Karima (Decent Life), which is aligned with FAO’s Better Life pillar.

The Director-General invited Egypt to benefit from the FAO flagship initiatives, including the Hand-in-Hand, the One Country One Priority Product, the Green Cities Initiative and Reducing Food Loss and Waste. The Director-General stressed the importance of using science, innovation, and digitalization in support of agrifood system transformation in Egypt.

The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation through South-South and Triangular Cooperation, building on the newly signed Agreement  between FAO and the Egyptian Agency for Partnership Development.