Bilateral meeting with H.E. Nizar Hani, Minister of Agriculture of Lebanon

Bari - The FAO Director-General, Dr QU Dongyu, met today with His Excellency Nizar Hani, Minister of Agriculture of Lebanon on the sidelines of the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) High Level Conference in Support of the Plant Health Strategy in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) Region.

The Minister commended the Director-General’s focus on cultural agricultural practices in managing the landscape especially as they can support transboundary pests and diseases and in adapting to climate change. The Minister referred to the long-term good relations between FAO and Leban and commended both the FAO Country Office in Lebanon, as well as the FAO Regional Office for the Near East in Cairo for the continued collaboration, especially for the implementation of the national ten-year agriculture strategy. Office for the Near East in Cairo.

The Minister further informed that the new government had taken on an important role in developing enabling policies and directing all stakeholders across the agriculture sector, as it was an important driver for economic recovery, rural development and job creation, and to support vulnerable communities. The Minister noted that Geographic Indications was another key focus area for Lebanon.

The Minister informed that a food loss and damage report had been issued recently which provided an overview of losses due to the impacts of the war, especially to agricultural infrastructure, as well as the livestock sector such as poultry, and looked forward to FAO’s support for this recovery phase. Finally, the Minister referred to the Hand-in-Hand Initiative as an important platform for collaboration with FAO, to attract investment and for South-South and Triangular Cooperation.

The Director-General emphasized that international visibility to attract investment was the real value of the Hand-in-Hand Initiative and referred to the Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum during the annual World Food Forum as an important platform in this regard. The Director-General also stressed the importance of collaborating with the private sector in Lebanon.

The Director-General appreciated the long cooperation with Lebanon and reaffirmed FAO’s support during this period of recovery, but stressed that political stability was key and that a more technical, professional driving force was needed to lead this stability.