The 40th Session of the FAO Conference will begin on Monday, 3 July at 9:00 in the Plenary Hall and will continue through Saturday, 8 July 2017. Approximately 600 government representatives, including 5 Presidents and Heads of State, nearly 70 Ministers and 15 Deputy Ministers are expected to attend the Conference.

His Excellency Paolo Gentiloni, Prime Minister of Italy, will deliver an address during the Opening Ceremony. This will be followed by a message from His Holiness Pope Francis, which will be delivered by His Eminence, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See. 

As always, there are also a series of informative and diverse side events on throughout the week. Below are some highlights. 

Monday 3 July

On Monday, 3 July at 13:30 in the Plenary Hall the "Zero Hunger: Turning Commitment into Action to Achieve SDG2" event will review regional and country approaches and progress in ending hunger. It will also highlight the FAO-IFAD-WFP partnership in meeting this goal and the additional global actions required to reach Zero Hunger.  The heads of the three UN Rome-based agencies will be participating in this event, in addition to notable ministers of agriculture and foreign affairs from Africa, Europe, and Latin America.

Tuesday 4 July

On Tuesday, 4 July at 12:30, the League of Arab States and FAO Regional Office for Near East and North Africa are hosting an event in the Iraq Room entitled “Addressing Water Scarcity and Improving Food Security under Climate Change- Perspectives from the Near East and North Africa Region.” Gathering perspectives and experiences, this event will be attended by ministers and high-level representatives from Arab countries and will discuss possible response options and make recommendations in achieving more sustainable food security levels in the Near East, North Africa and beyond. 

Also at 12:30, Germany’s Minister of Food and Agriculture, will give a keynote speech at the “Seed Money Matters – 15 years of Bilateral Trust Fund” event in the Sheikh Zayed Centre. Germany has provided “seed money” to FAO to support innovative projects and strategies that help create a favorable environment for global food security and nutrition. 

In the evening at 19:00 in the Sheikh Zayed Centre, there will be the “Launch of the Global Action Programme (GAP) on Food Security in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).” President of Palau, Tommy E. Remengesau, and Vice-President of Comoros, Moustradroine Abdoul, as well as many ministers and representatives from SIDS will participate in this event, providing an opportunity for countries to present and exchange views on the GAP as a programme for addressing the growing challenges associated with food security and nutrition in all SIDS. It will also elaborate specific actions that SIDS member countries need to undertake in tackling these issues.

Wednesday 5 July

Wednesday’s events begin at 8:30 in the Sheikh Zayed Centre with “FAO’s role in supporting the Implementation of the Peace Agreement in Colombia: Advances and Challenges.” The event will discuss the content of the Comprehensive Rural Reform (one the main pillars of the peace process in the country), the links between peace and food security, the strategies to promote integrated and territorial rural development and the role of FAO and its partners in supporting the peace process. Rafael Pardo, Minister of Post-Conflict of Colombia, will be speaking about the current situation in Colombia.

The day continues with the next side event, “Leaving No One Behind: Achieving Gender Equality for Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainable Agriculture,” at 12:30 in the Plenary Hall. This is a dynamic occasion to reflect on emerging opportunities to promote gender equality and rural women’s empowerment at country level and showcase how FAO is supporting countries in this regard. Ministers and representatives from El Salvador, ECOWAS, Cambodia, the EU, Turkey, Tunisia and civil society representatives will be present to discuss their views.

At 18:00 in the Green Room, FAO will host its Awards Ceremony to recognize the individuals, institutions and organizations who have made outstanding achievements in fighting hunger. Beginning with a welcome by FAO’s Director-General, the event will recognize William Swing, Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Victória de Barros, Minister of Inland and Marine Fisheries of Angola, as two of this year’s winners who will be at the event to receive the awards in person.

Thursday 6 July

In line with the theme of this year’s World Food Day, the side event held in the Sheikh Zayed Centre at 14:00 on Thursday, 6 July features migration as its topic and will be attended by FAO’s Director-General as well as the International Organization for Migration’s Director-General. The event, “Mobilizing Agriculture and Rural Development as an Adaptation Alternative to Climate-induced Migration,” will contribute to a better understanding of the nexus between climate change and migration and highlight early actions on addressing these issues through agriculture. 

Thursday’s activities continue with another event at 17:00 in the Iraq Room, “Global Health Security ‐ A Unique Momentum for Success, an Urgent Need for a One Health Approach.” The purpose of this side event is to raise awareness, share information and initiate dialogue among FAO Members about the One Health perspective to health security work, reviewing the connection between humans, animals and the environment.

The day’s events end with “China-FAO South-South Cooperation (SSC): Promoting Inclusive and Sustainable Development” at 18:30 in the Sheikh Zayed Centre. This event will highlight the achievements of the last 20 years of FAO’s SSC programme. It also hopes to engage more countries and international organizations to join and support these types of programmes.

Friday 7 July

The last side event will take place on Friday, 7 July at 14:00 in the Iraq Room. “The Blue Ocean, Blue Growth: People, Resources, Innovation” event will focus on the innovations in aquatic renewable resources and on the frameworks for countries to make the transition to sustainable management of these aquatic resources.

A complete list of side events, including their concept notes, is available from the dedicated Side Event web page.