On April 16, 2019, FAO Representative, Vinod Ahuja, briefed the president on FAO’s recent upgrade to a full country representation and its commitment to expand cooperation in the fields of food security and nutrition, sustainable agriculture development, decent employment creation, natural resource management, and preparedness and response capacities. The president acknowledged the cooperation with FAO and stressed the importance of agriculture in fighting poverty, pastureland degradation, climate change and water scarcity. Both sides exchanged ideas in more depth on e-agriculture, potential cooperation with the Government of India, strategies to reverse land degradation, desertification and biodiversity loss, and the need for a systematic approach to export of livestock products from Mongolia to global premium markets.

The rather open and candid discussion laid the foundation for a more strategic cooperation and was followed by an informal meeting with president’s advisors to brief FAO on current projects in more detail.