Bilateral meeting with the Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships of France - H.E. Chrysoula Zacharopoulou

Rome - The FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, met at FAO headquarters in Rome with H.E. Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships of France.

The pair recalled their meeting last year in Rome in the Minister’s former capacity as Member of the European Parliament.

The Director-General thanked the Minister for the longstanding support from France as one of the founding Members of FAO.

The pair discussed possibilities to work together in the run-up to the Third UN Ocean Conference, which will take place in Nice, France, in June 2025, chaired jointly by the governments of France and Costa Rica, and in that regard, they discussed the importance of protecting biodiversity.

The pair also discussed the need for increased and improved support for small-scale producers, such as for better access to finance and improved real time data, information and knowledge, to better cope with the impacts of the climate crisis, and contribute to agrifood systems transformation.