Director-General welcomes new chair of the G77 and China in Rome

15 May 2020, Rome - FAO Director-General QU Dongyu today offered his best wishes to Ambassador Esti Andayani, Permanent Representative of Indonesia to FAO, who took over the chair of the Rome chapter of The Group of 77 and China at the United Nations.

“I work to support all Member States in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals” and “we are on the same page and in the same boat,” the Director-General said. “We will never stop all the efforts we are making and will even intensify them during this difficult pandemic time.”

Ambassador Andayani, who since 2017 has also been her country’s ambassador to Italy, Malta, San Marino and Cyprus, succeeds Natalina Edward Mou, representing South Sudan, as chair of the local G77 and China group, which brings together developing countries to discuss the most relevant issues concerning the development agenda.

The G77 and China group will promote focus on the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly the eradication of hunger and extreme poverty, on supporting small-scale farmers and fishers, on capacity building initiatives and on partnerships, Ambassador Andayani said.

The Director-General highlighted that “the challenging times that we are living in require strengthened multilateral cooperation. It is time for true solidarity, strong collaboration and humanity.” He also noted that “FAO is the house of all Members, big and small.”

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Qu stressed that FAO continues to focus on its core functions, providing science-based technical advice, policy assistance, promotion and governance of international norms and standards, and statistics, data and information related to its mandate and areas of expertise.

The Director-General also noted that South-South Cooperation and Triangular Cooperation are important and successful tools, highlighting how they allow for the sharing of experience and knowledge, as well as the building of partnerships that can generate deliverable results. “We will definitely strengthen them,” he said.