Meeting with H.E. Mohamed Abdi Hayir, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation of the Federal Republic of Somalia

Rabat - FAO Director-General QU Dongyu met today in Rabat with H.E. Mohamed Abdi Hayir, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation of the Federal Republic of Somalia, on the margins of the 33rd Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa (ARC33).

The Director-General conveyed his appreciation to the Government of Somalia for the efforts and progress made to improve the agrifood system in the country.

The Minister thanked the Director-General for establishing the FAO office in Mogadishu, noting it had contributed to the impetus for agrifood system transformation in Somalia. He also expressed gratitude to the Director-General for the Hand-in-Hand Initiative which had had positively impacted agriculture in Somalia. He also conveyed his appreciation for the recent visit to Somalia by the FAO Deputy Director-General.

The Minister highlighted the need to further strengthen cooperation between FAO and Somalia, in particular to support improvement on agricultural production, livestock production and forestry.

The Director-General encouraged the Government of Somalia to develop a comprehensive plan to be presented at the Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum during the World Food Forum in October 2024 to attract the needed investment. He also reaffirmed FAO’s commitment to providing all the technical support needed for the transformation of Somalia’s agrifood system and to achieve the Four Betters.