Bilateral meeting with The Honourable Tiu Laurel Jr, Secretary for Agriculture of the Republic of Philippines

Rome - FAO Director-General, Dr QU Dongyu, met today with The Honourable Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr, Secretary for Agriculture of the Republic of Philippines, on the sidelines of the 2025 World Food Forum and FAO’s 80th Anniversary celebrations at FAO headquarters.

The Director-General warmly welcomed the Minister and provided a brief overview of FAO’s history over the past eight decades, highlighting that the Philippines is one of FAO’s founding Members. He emphasized FAO’s commitment to continue supporting the Philippines in achieving agrifood systems transformation, including rice self-sufficiency, aquaculture development, and other high-value sectors.

The Minister expressed appreciation for FAO’s longstanding support and highlighted ongoing initiatives such as the Hand-in-Hand (HIH) Initiative. The Minister further referred to other key opportunities for enhanced collaboration, including the One Country, One Priority Product (OCOP). In this regard, the Director-General highlighted the importance of leveraging partnerships, including with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), as well as the Philippines’ comparative advantage in in aquaculture for technical cooperation and capacity development.