Bilateral meeting with H.E. Girma Amente, Minister of Agriculture of Ethiopia

Siracusa - On the margins of the G7 Agriculture Ministers’ meeting in Siracusa, Italy, the Director-General met with H.E. Girma Amente, Minister of Agriculture of Ethiopia.

The Director-General thanked the Minister for the opportunity to meet and commended the Prime Minister of Ethiopia and the government of Ethiopia for the support and collaboration in moving forward with the joint programme of work, including through the FAO governing bodies. In particular, the Director-General commended Ethiopia for their leading role in the transformation of agrifood systems, as well as South-South Cooperation.

The Director-General emphasized the importance of food diversity for food security, noting it did not affect only developing countries but was a global challenge. He also referred to the FAO flagship initiatives, such as the Green Cities, which could provide important links with other global initiatives such as World Bee Day.

The Minister appreciated the close and strategic relation with FAO, including for the effective collaboration with the FAO Office in Ethiopia. The Minister referred to the recent National Investment Forum held in Ethiopia, under the umbrella of the FAO Hand-in-Hand Initiative, and conveyed his appreciation for FAO’s support and looked forward to ongoing support from the FAO Investment Centre. The Minister also conveyed his appreciation for the support provided for the recent national agricultural census.

Finally, the Minister conveyed Ethiopia’s willingness to host an international conference on bees in 2025, to coincide with World Bee Day, and looked forward to FAO’s technical support in the preparation thereof.