Photo :©FAO

Ankara - FAO Turkey FAO Turkey continues its works at full speed despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected the whole world. The first board meeting for the project financed by the EU and titled Building Resilience of Syrians under Temporary Protection and Host Communities in Turkey through Supporting Socio-Economic Integration and Creating Livelihood Opportunities was held with broad participation.
The project aims at improving financial conditions and socioeconomic integration of Syrians Under Temporary Protection (SUTP). The first board meeting for the project was moderated by the Chief Foreign Affairs Advisor Halil Afşarata and the Director-General for EU and Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Aylin Çağlayan Özcan. Many high-ranking representatives attended meeting, including the representative of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, FAO's Subregional Coordinator for Central Asia and FAO Representative for Turkey Viorel Gutu, the EU Delegation to Turkey Head of Section Libor Chad, and General Director of International Labour Force of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Services Sadettin Akyıl.
Halil Afşarata, the Chief Advisor to the Vice President of Turkey, emphasized that 70 million people including 25 million refugees were displaced due to recent developments in the world. Afşarata pointed out that Turkey hosts approximately 5 million refugees, which makes it the largest refugee-hosting country. He added that they mostly have low levels of education and vocational skills. Afşarata stated that agricultural employment projects are very valuable for this reason. He said, “The growth rates of developing countries will drop below those of developed countries for the first time since World War II. This is why we should be more active in terms of creating employment opportunities, and speed up this process without encountering bureaucratic obstacles.”
FAO Representative for Turkey Viorel Gutu reminded in the meeting that Turkey is much appreciated globally for hosting over 4 million refugees. Gutu emphasized that the project aims at helping Syrians hosted by Turkey financially as well as strengthening the sector. He said, “The project is a good example of global solidarity in terms of the efforts to share the burden.” He also indicated that it is hope-inspiring that all the works continue thanks to the determination of stakeholders despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused revisions in many projects.
Speaking after Gutu, the EU Delegation to Turkey Head of Section Libor Chad pointed out the pandemic and the global crisis caused by it. Chlad underlined the importance of global cooperation to mitigate the effects of the pandemic and the crisis. He said, “We continue to work in close cooperation with all stakeholders to overcome our problems in this process. Many dynamics of the project had to change due to the recent crisis we have experienced. However, we will work together determinedly to reach our goals. Economic projects are very important for the integration of Syrians. Agricultural employment stands out in this respect. This is why the project we conduct with FAO is very critical and valuable.”
Director-General for International Labor Force of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Services Sadettin Akyıl spoke next. He indicated that the projects implemented by leadership of FAO are critical for the employment of Syrians. He also stated that they had to make critical changes in the implementation and strategy of many projects due to the pandemic. He added that they brought to their agenda the innovations and advanced technologies to use particularly in agriculture and stockbreeding. He said, “It is important to emphasize that the common goal of all our projects is sustainability. Perhaps one positive aspect of the crisis is that it has awaken people's interest in agriculture.”
The attendees agreed on revising working plans, preparing a new action plan, and extending the implementation time of the project for 9 more months. Turkey's commitment to improve living conditions of 4.5 million Syrians was underlined in the meeting as well. Also, it was emphasized that the cooperation in the project, which is conducted by leadership of FAO, will grow even stronger in the future.