Signing ceremony with the President of the Inter-American Development Bank, Ilan Goldfajn, for a new framework agreement

On the sidelines of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) signed a new framework agreement that will facilitate greater collaboration between the two entities.

FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, and Inter-American Development Bank President, Ilan Goldfajn, exchanged views recognizing the two organizations’ common goals and mandates in support of their respective memberships.  They agreed to bolster joint efforts to assist sustainable development and the fight against hunger in the Latin America and the Caribbean region.

The agreement lays the groundwork for a more streamlined funding process for IDB-financed projects, and for more and larger-scale projects aimed at advancing sustainable development and provide greater access to FAO’s technical expertise for the 26 IDB borrowing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The pair discussed the IDB’s long term development goals, noting they were closely aligned with those of FAO, with a focus on reducing poverty and inequality, addressing climate change, and bolstering sustainable growth, in a region which plays a unique role in global food security.

Finally, the Director-General and IDB President agreed that by leveraging each other’s strengths they could more effectively support countries across the region in tackling development challenges and building more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems.