Born 1978, Krisztina Bende took over the Permanent Representation of Switzerland to the United Nations Organizations in Rome in September 2023. She started her career at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in 2003, where she worked on environmental issues in the Policy Directorate. She then worked as a case lawyer at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg. In 2005, Krisztina Bende joined the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) to work on international trade issues related to agriculture. 

She was Member of the Swiss delegation to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and chaired the Joint Committee on Agriculture between Switzerland and the European Union. Together with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SOC), it also oversaw the revision of the Food Aid Convention within the International Grains Council. Before her current posting, Krisztina Bende was the Director of the Trade Relations Division at the European Free Trade Association in Geneva, overseeing trade negotiations with non-EU countries. Ambassador Bende holds a Law degree from the University of Berne and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from IE Madrid and Brown Providence USA.

Martha Viviana Carvajalino Villegas is a lawyer, specialist in Constitutional Law, and holds a master’s degree in Law. She completed all her studies at the National University of Colombia.

This distinguished jurist, an expert in agrarian and environmental issues, has served as Judicial Prosecutor II in agrarian and environmental matters at the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation. Her experience is preceded by a notable career in government agencies, international organizations, and civil society organizations focused on promoting rural development, democratizing the agrarian structure, and supporting peasant and community-based economies.

A driving force behind Agrarian Reform in Colombia, she has, throughout her public service, promoted compliance with the agrarian legal framework and has supported the struggles of peasant communities and ethnic groups for the recognition of their territorial, political, and social rights. As Deputy Minister of Rural Development, from June 2023 to January 2024, she reactivated the National Agrarian Reform System and designed tools to stimulate land redistribution processes in the country.

Mr Mabouba Diagne, Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Livestock of Senegal since April 2024 in Government 1, reappointed to head the department in Government 2. He is also a former Vice President of EBID (ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development), a seasoned professional in the world of banking and global finance.

• Winner of the national General Competition in Mathematics in 1989
• Baccalauréat C (science track)
• Master's degree and DEA (postgraduate diploma) with honors from Gaston Berger University of Saint-Louis, Senegal (1995)
• PhD in Financial Risk Management & Portfolio Management
• Holds four (04) Master’s degrees in the fields of Financial Mathematics and Computer Science
• Over 20 years of experience as an international investment banker and in development banking
• Regional Director at Commerzbank in Germany (7 years)
• Regional Director at Credit Suisse & Commerzbank in London (8 years)
• Regional Director at Barclays & Atlas Mara in South Africa (7.5 years)
• Regional Director at Trade & Development Bank (TDB) in Nairobi, Kenya and Mauritius (3 years)
• Vice President in charge of Finance at EBID
• Initiated, structured, and closed over USD 12 billion in transactions across various sectors
• 2019 Pan-African Banking Award for Best Infrastructure Project of the Year
• President's Excellence Award from the CEO of TDB Bank for several consecutive years
• Group CEO Best Employee Award at Barclays Bank in 2014

Mr Devesh Chaturvedi is a senior Indian Administrative Service officer (1989 batch) with extensive leadership experience in governance, administration and policy. He completed his schooling at La Martiniere College, Lucknow, earned a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kanpur and an M.Tech in Industrial Engineering from IIT Delhi. In 2005, he obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Policy and Management from IIM Bengaluru, where he was awarded the Director’s Gold Medal. He later received a Ph.D. in Management Studies from IIT Delhi in 2013 for his research on performance management in government.

Mr Chaturvedi’s career spans diverse administrative roles. He has served as District Magistrate in Pithoragarh, Deoria, Bulandshahar, Kanpur Dehat, Gorakhpur and Allahabad, and as Commissioner of Allahabad Division, where he oversaw the organization of the 2013 Kumbh Mela. At the national level, he gained five years of experience in the tourism sector as Director and Additional Director General, followed by three years as Joint Secretary in the Department of Personnel & Training, where he managed services, vigilance and international cooperation.

He also served as Additional Secretary in the Department of Agriculture Cooperation & Farmers Welfare. In the Uttar Pradesh Government, Mr Chaturvedi worked as Principal Secretary and later Additional Chief Secretary, leading Agriculture for four and a half years, and Appointments & Personnel for three years. Since August 12, 2024, he has been serving as Secretary, Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India.

Mr Fakhri is a professor at the University of Oregon School of Law where he teaches courses on human rights, food law, development, and commercial law. He is also the director of the Food Resiliency Project in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center. He was appointed Special Rapporteur on the right to food by the Human Rights Council in March 2020 and assumed his functions on 1 May 2020.