Social Protection for Food Security, Nutrition and Rural Development in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

This two-day meeting aims to bring together the representatives of the ministries of agriculture and the ministries dealing with the social protection issues, as well as FAO and development partners, with the main objectives to discuss opportunities for collaborative work on social protection in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, by:

• Raising awareness among the different government stakeholders regarding social protection for rural populations and FAO’s contribution to the agenda;
• Presenting the examples of existing work in social protection in Eastern Europe and Central Asia where linkages between social protection, food security and nutrition and rural development are addressed; 
• Identifying priorities on social protection of participating governments and development partners on potential areas of work.

The organizers expect the participation from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. The participants are expected from the ministries of agriculture and of social affairs (or equivalent social protection focal point) and international development agencies such as  UNDP, UNICEF, ILO, ADB and the World Bank which should facilitate multi-sectoral dialogue on social protection.