FAO: Hand in hand with science and education

On 23 July Oleg Kobiakov, Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation, met at his Moscow office with Sergey Treshkin, Deputy Director of the Department for coordination of organizations in the field of agricultural sciences (Ministry of Education and Science of Russia).

At the meeting the parties have agreed to collaborate to train personnel in the strategic areas of FAO activities in Africa and other regions of the world, to strengthen scientific and educational cooperation in the field of agriculture, and to stimulate cooperation between Russia and FAO in implementing technical assistance projects and programs in Africa, also within the framework of the FAO Director General’s “Hand-in-hand” Initiative and the public-private partnership mechanism with the participation of Russian research and educational institutions. 

Special attention was paid to the interaction between the FAO and Russian academic community, Russian Ministry of Education and Science and business partners to implement the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, in particular, to achieve SDG2 aimed at eliminating hunger, ensuring food security, improving nutrition, and promoting sustainable development of the agricultural sector. 

From the Ministry of Education and Science the meeting was also attended by the Deputy Head of Department of international scientific and technical cooperation and integration of the international cooperation Department S.K. Terashkevich and Head of programmes and projects in the field of agriculture, Department of coordination of activity of the organizations in the field of agricultural sciences M.V. Balashov. The Moscow FAO Office was also represented by Deputy Director A.F. Harutyunyan and liaison officer K.V. Antonevich.