Read-out of the FAO Director-General’s meeting with the Honourable Harjit Singh Sajjan, Minister for International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada

New York – Director-General QU Dongyu met today with the Honourable Harjit Singh Sajjan, Minister for International Development, who is also the Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada on the sidelines of the 77^th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The Director-General thanked the Minister for Canada’s long-term commitment and ongoing support to FAO. He acknowledged FAO’s roots in North America – recalling that almost 80 years have passed since the first United Nations Conference on Food and Agriculture was held in May 1943, which led to the establishment of FAO in 1945.

The Minister expressed his concern about the current state of food security in the world, noting the need to build capacity in vulnerable countries to address food crisis issues.  In particular, he stressed the importance of recognizing the continuum and linkages that exists between food security, health and education, and the need to holistically address these interlinked areas.

For his part, the Director-General invited the Minister to consider supporting FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative, which prioritizes support to countries and territories where poverty and hunger are highest, national capacities are limited, or operational difficulties are greatest due to natural or man-made crises.  He also highlighted that FAO's open-access Hand-in-Hand Geospatial Platform provides advanced information, including food security indicators and agricultural statistics, for more targeted agriculture interventions by harnessing the power of data, science and new technologies.

The Director-General also expressed his hope that the Minister could visit FAO and participate in the World Food Forum, the Science and Innovation Forum, and the Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum, to catalyze action.  The events will all take place in Rome, Italy during the week of 17-22 October. 

The Director-General and Minister briefly touched upon the upcoming COP 27 and its themes around food, water and energy.  They also talked about the importance of empowering women and youth, and harnessing the power of private sector innovation and technology solutions in order to catalyze agrifood systems transformation.

The Director-General and the Minister closed the meeting noting they looked forward to additional, constructive discussions on the various topics covered.