Bilateral meeting with H.E. Karmenu Vella, Special Envoy to the Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Tourism of the Republic of Malta

Rome - The FAO Director-General, Qu Dongyu, met today with H.E. Karmenu Vella, Special Envoy to the Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Tourism of the Republic of Malta at FAO headquarters in Rome.

The Director-General welcomed Special Envoy Vella and recalled his previous engagement with FAO during his tenure as European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs, and Fisheries.

Special Envoy Vella thanked the Director-General and referred to his work over many decades on maritime and aquatic issues, and in particular to his work with the recovery of wild fish stocks in the Mediterranean. He also spoke about Malta’s efforts to support global initiatives for improved management of aquatic resources. 

The Director-General expressed his appreciation for Malta’s work and spoke about the untapped potential of aquaculture as a highly efficient component of sustainable agrifood systems. The pair also agreed that there was not enough attention given to the damage caused to the oceans by nutrient run-off from agriculture, and for the need for increased focus on knowledge and capacity development on a broad range of aquatic foods and expressed their mutual commitment to work together to leverage this potential.