Bilateral meeting with the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development of the Republic of Albania, H.E. Anila Denaj

Rome - The FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, and Her Excellency Anila Denaj, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development of Republic of Albania, met at FAO headquarters in Rome ahead of the Regional Conference for Europe and Central Asia (ERC) to discuss ways to further strengthen cooperation between FAO and Albania.

The Director-General thanked Albania for expressing interest in being a Vice Chair of the 34th session of the ERC, hosted by the Republic of Moldova. Being the highest governing body of the Organization at the regional level, ERC provides a platform for the Ministers of Agriculture and high-level officials of FAO Members from the region to come together to discuss regional challenges and priorities related to food and agriculture, with a view to promoting regional coherence on global policies and political issues.

The Minister in turn expressed her satisfaction with FAO’s work in the country, and especially thanked the FAO Country Team and the FAOR for the support provided. She further conveyed her appreciation for FAO's support for Albania's national agrifood system transformation pathway, as well as for Albania’s participation in the One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) initiative through the chestnut value chain.

The Director-General encouraged Albania to also join the FAO Hand-in-Hand Initiative, which could help to accelerate agrifood systems transformation by addressing inequalities and attracting new investments. The Director-General added that during his last visit to Albania he had seen the great potential of the agriculture sector.

The Director-General and the Minister also discussed agrotourism and the opportunities it could bring to agricultural development in the country. Both agreed to continue to work together to make the agrifood system in the country more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable for the Four Betters.