FAO Deputy Director-General presents Food Coalition to New York Group of Friends of Food Security and Nutrition

On 12 November 2020, the Group of Friends of Food Security and Nutrition in New York met virtually to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and the preparations of the 2021 Food Systems Summit (FSS). This was the fourth meeting of the Group during 2020 and open to the participation of the entire UN membership 

The meeting was chaired by the Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN, Ambassador Mariangela Zappia, who opened the meeting noting that the COVID-19 crisis had dramatically highlighted the centrality and relevance of food security and nutrition on a global scale. Ambassador Zappia also announced Switzerland, Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire and Guatemala as new members of the Group of Friends. The meeting also saw a brief recorded message from the Italian Prime Minister delivered at the launch event of the Food Coalition in Rome on 5 November.

The discussion benefited from the contributions of the FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol who presented the scope, structure and main objectives of the recently launched “Food Coalition” initiative, proposed by Italy and led by FAO. FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero also participated as respondent. The Secretary-General Special Envoy for the 2021 Food Systems Summit, Ms. Agnes Kalibata, and Mr. David Nabarro also addressed the meeting, providing updates on the preparatory process of the summit and presenting the FSS dialogues that allows different stakeholders to contribute ideas to the discussion on food systems.

Presenting the Food Coalition, Beth Bechdol explained that it was “a multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral alliance that will activate and mobilize support for more unified global action in response to challenges posed by COVID-19. It intends to mobilize financial resources, innovation and technical expertise, promote advocacy initiatives and establish a neutral space for dialogue among diverse and key stakeholders.”