Bilateral Meeting with H.E. Edgardo Ortuño Silva, Minister for the Environment of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay

Montevideo – During his official visit to Uruguay, FAO Director-General, Dr QU Dongyu, met with His Excellency Edgardo Ortuño Silva, Minster for the Environment.

The Minister welcomed the Director-General and expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to discuss the country’s fruitful partnership FAO, which he said was crucial for Uruguay's development as a food producing country. The Minister highlighted that Uruguay's priorities were to increase rural productivity and competitiveness while ensuring sustainability, and also referred to robust progress made in recent years with regard to a renewable energy matrix.

Looking forward, the Minister mentioned the importance of expanding and improving rural irrigation, water services and sanitation, sustainable agriculture and livestock, and biodiversity protection. Additionally, Minister Ortuño provided insights into opportunities related to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and its initiatives, particularly the upcoming GEF-9 cycle.

The Director-General thanked the Minister, praised the work undertaken by the Ministry of the Environment and encouraged the Minister to keep promoting a circular economy approach to ensure greater rural productivity in a sustainable manner. He also commended the government initiatives involving water security, and referred to the Rome Water Dialogue as an important platform for discussion. The Director-General reaffirmed FAO’s commitment to continue supporting Uruguay in their efforts towards sustainable development, in line with FAO's mandate.