6 June 2015, Rome--- FAO’s 39th Conference opened today, with representatives from 194 countries including more than 130 ministers who gathered to discuss the Organization's future workplan, set a new two-year budget, and elect the next FAO Director-General. President Sergio Mattarella of Italy and Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile, addressed the 39th Session of the FAO Conference. The two heads of state were followed by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, former President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, who delivered the biennial Frank McDougall lecture, named an Australian economist who helped found FAO.