Readout of meeting between FAO Director-General QU Dongyu and H.E. Collen Vixen Kelapile, 77th President of the UN Economic and Social Council

18 October 2021, Rome - FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, and H.E. Collen Vixen Kelapile, 77th President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), met virtually today.

The meeting reaffirmed the importance of close collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and ECOSOC, with the Director-General and the president expressing their commitment to collaborating closely on shared goals and ambitions.

The Director-General congratulated the president on his election and thanked him for ECOSOC’s consistent and ongoing support to the work of FAO. He expressed his appreciation to the president for his recent support during World Food Week and World Food Day celebrations and for bringing voice to the importance of reducing food insecurity and transforming agri-food systems. Moreover, he reiterated appreciation for ECOSOC’s continued support to the annual launch of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, held during ECOSOC’s High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).

For his part, the president provided an overview of his priorities for the 77th session of ECOSOC, including COVID-19 recovery; addressing inequalities within and between countries; resuming development after conflicts; science, technology and innovation; the climate crisis and biodiversity loss; and inclusivity, partnerships, and youth. The Director-General commended the president for his agenda and reaffirmed that FAO stands ready to support his presidency through technical support, joint events, advocacy and other means in order to amplify its goals and objectives.

The two also shared views on the importance of supporting Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and SIDS. In this regard, the Director-General highlighted the flagship FAO Hand-in-Hand Initiative, which helps countries develop ambitious evidence-based, country-led, and country-owned programmes to eradicate poverty (SDG 1) and end hunger and all forms of malnutrition (SDG 2). He also informed that in 2020 he had established the Office of SIDS, LDCs, and LLDCs, which plays a vital coordinating role within FAO to ensure that targeted support is provided to these specific categories of countries.

The Director-General also noted that the new role of Chief Scientist, along with the newly established FAO offices for Innovation and for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), will play a key role in supporting FAO’s Members on matters related to science, innovation and technology.

The president and Director-General also agreed that youth are critical to the future, and agri-food systems in particular, noting there is scope for increased cooperation between ECOSOC and FAO on youth issues. In that respect, the Director-General cited the first World Food Forum (WFF) – for which the inaugural session was held from 1-5 October – as a platform around which some of this collaboration could revolve, as the WFF is a youth-led movement and network, initiated by FAO’s Youth Committee, to transform agri-food systems and achieve the SDGs, in particular “zero hunger”. 

The two also touched upon the follow-up to the UN Food Systems Summit (FSS), noting that FAO and the Rome-based agencies (RBAs) will be playing a leading role in coordinating follow-up to the FSS outcomes.