Bilateral meeting with H.E. Josué Alejandro Lorca Vega, Minister for Environment of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Rome - The FAO Director-General QU Dongyu met today with the Minister for Environment of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, H.E. ​​​Josué Alejandro Lorca Vega, at FAO headquarters in Rome.

The Director-General welcomed the Minister to FAO and referred to COP29 informing that FAO had emphasized the urgent need for increased investment in agrifood systems to combat the impacts of the climate crisis, which were in line with the global finance discussions advocating for agrifood systems transformation in national policies.

Minister Lorca thanked the Director-General for the opportunity to meet and mentioned that the Venezuelan delegation at COP20 had demanded swifter implementation of funds, highlighting that while transparency and accountability were important, efficiency was crucial.

The Director-General emphasized the significance of FAO's strengthened portfolio in Venezuela in 2024, with three new projects totaling $16 million, funded by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), noting that these projects focused on managing invasive alien species, conserving the Amazon, and advancing agricultural adaptation policies. He added that FAO is formulating a $14 million project with the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) to address water pollution due to contamination in Lake Maracaibo.

Minister Lorca emphasized that the project on Lake Maracaibo was a flagship initiative and that the Venezuelan Government was seeking a binational project with Colombia to clean the lake from contamination, and for this reason Venezuela counted on strengthened collaboration with FAO through enhanced cross-sectoral initiatives on biodiversity and climate adaptation.

The Director-General underlined that Venezuela has the potential to produce more and better with adequate training and referred to the joint FAO/IAEA Research Center.

The FAO Director-General and the Minister agreed to continue their cooperation and reiterated their collective will to strengthen the partnership between the Organization and to join forces and work together towards common objectives.