Bilateral meeting with H.E. Guy Parmelin, Federal Councilor, Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research of Switzerland

Bern - FAO Director-General QU Dongyu and His Excellency Guy Parmelin, Federal Councilor, Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research of Switzerland met today at the Federal Palace in Bern. The Federal Councilor was joined by Christian Hofer, Director-General of the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG), and Her Excellency Ambassador Krisztina Bende, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to FAO.

Federal Councilor Parmelin welcomed the Director-General to the Swiss Confederation and reaffirmed Switzerland’s commitment to global food security and nutrition. He thanked the Director-General for modernizing FAO to face the ever-growing multiple challenges and reflected on the necessity for a holistic approach taking account of production, consumption, loss and waste, and the need for innovation to unlock the answers to these challenges.

The Director-General expressed his appreciation for Switzerland’s support, outlining the importance of multilateralism, his determination to make progress on the transformation of global agrifood systems, and the opportunities for FAO and Switzerland to engage further, including through FAO’s Liaison Office in Geneva. He referred to various recent Swiss contributions to the work of FAO, including the funding of the Swiss Centre for Locust and Migratory pests at FAO headquarters in Rome. 

The Director-General also referred to the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31 which has consensus among all FAO Members to deliver on the Four Betters: Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment, and a Better Life, leaving no one behind. The Director-General outlined the global challenge of producing more with less inputs and less impact on the environment, whilst ensuring greater food diversity. In this regard, he commended the impressive innovations in Switzerland to address the challenge, which he had witnessed firsthand during his visit so far.

He recognized the many applications for Swiss innovation to assist developing countries and the potential for further triangular cooperation, facilitated through the FAO South-South and Triangular Cooperation programme and other relevant platforms.

The Director-General and the Federal Councilor also discussed the unique aspects of the Swiss system - balancing large and small enterprises, setting an enabling environment for innovation within appropriate controls, and applying the careful use of supports for food producers.

The pair concluded on the importance of the normative work of FAO, the establishment of best practices for the global common good, and the need for multilateralism to set out global policy direction in a coherent way.