Mr. Serge Nakouzi, the Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) officially presented today, 25 October 2014, his letter of credentials to His Excellency, Mr. Mahmoud Hojjati, the Minister for Jihad-e-Agriculture, in the presence of His Excellency, Dr. Abdolmahdi Bakhshandeh, Vice Minister, Planning Economic and International Affairs, Dr. Majid Dehghan Shoar, newly appointed Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to FAO, and Mr. Hooman Fathi, Director-General, Bureau of International Affairs and Specialized Organizations of the Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture.

During the meeting, Mr. Nakouzi elaborated on the current food and agriculture challenges faced by the region including Iran, emphasizing on the readiness and willingness of FAO to strengthen its collaboration with the Ministry and the Government in addressing these challenges. He indicated that FAO would lend its technical assistance and policy advice through the framework of a comprehensive integrated strategic programme that addresses the aforementioned challenges in a holistic and sustainable manner. This will entail a significant paradigm shift in the manner in which the assistance would be provided, moving away from the traditional project-focused approach and advocating a programme-based framework that is more results-oriented and leads to long-term sustainability of development activities.

H. E. Mr. Hojjati, congratulating Mr. Nakouzi on his appointment, noted the comparative advantage of FAO, as the world's agricultural knowledge agency and the reservoir of global experience and expertise in the field of rural development and agriculture. The Minister underscored in this respect the key role of FAO in assisting the country to promote an environmentally sustainable development of its agriculture and rural sectors, particularly in the light of the projected impacts of climate change. Whilst the Ministry has a long history of collaboration with FAO, the Minister indicated that Iran would benefit from a stronger presence of the Organization in the country and from having FAO as a partner in its programmes.

In agreement with the Minister, the FAO Representative added that the ultimate objective of the joint partnership should be to embed the institutional framework at the national level which would contribute to redressing the current challenges, mitigating future risks and establishing the mechanisms to confront potential future challenges that may arise. Such a framework should also pave the path for Iran to play a more leading role on both the regional and global fronts in the fields of agricultural and rural development.