The World Food Day annual ceremony will see the participation of His Excellency Sergio Mattarella, President of the Republic of Italy, His Excellency Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland, and Her Excellency Mariam Bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri, Cabinet Member, Minister for Climate Change and Environment of the United Arab Emirates. Special messages from Pope Francis and the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres will be delivered and they will be followed by the intervention of the Heads of the Rome-based UN agencies Mr Alvaro Lario, President, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and Ms Cindy Hensley McCain, Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP). The World Food Day ceremony will end with the presentation of the FAO Achievement Award.