Bilateral meeting with H.E. Konstantinos Tsiaras, Minister of Rural Development and Food of Greece

Rome - FAO Director-General QU Dongyu met with H.E. Konstantinos Tsiaras, Minister of Rural Development and Food of the Hellenic Republic, on the margins of the 44th Session of the FAO Ministerial Conference.

The Director-General welcomed the Minister and outlined the demanding global context in which FAO operates, emphasizing the growing challenges of food insecurity and hunger. He stressed the importance of ensuring that FAO is adequately resourced to deliver on its mandate.

Minister Tsiaras reflected on agriculture as the fabric of society, noting its deep connection to climate, rural livelihoods, and the growing threats posed by transboundary animal diseases. He also referred to the EU Common Agriculture Policy and the efforts to support farmers in Greece to deliver the many public goods associated with their activities. Both parties discussed the political dimensions of agriculture, the impacts of conflict, and shifting weather patterns globally. The Director-General emphasized that policy responses must be grounded in science, data, and evidence-based decision-making.

The Minister committed to strengthening Greece’s collaboration with FAO and proposed joint initiatives in areas such as climate adaptation, water scarcity, and hosting of relevant international technical conferences.

The Director-General recognized Greece’s rich agriculture history and strategic geographic location in relation to trade and the prevention of disease spread, and encouraged Greece’s participation in FAO’s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). The Director-General also provided an overview of the increasing threat of Transboundary Animal Diseases (TADs), to which the Minister responded by referring to the growing risk of disease spread across countries and regions.

The meeting concluded with mutual recognition of the importance of continued engagement and technical cooperation to address shared challenges and promote resilient agrifood systems.