43rd Session of the FAO Conference - Closing Remarks
by Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
07/07/2023
43rd Session of the FAO Conference
Closing Remarks
Dr. QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
7 July 2023
Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,
1. First of all, I congratulate you that, together, you have made a new historical record with an extraordinary and successful session of the FAO 43rd Ministerial Conference.
2. I sincerely thank the Chair of the Conference, the Honourable and experienced Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie-Claude Bibeau, from Canada, for her calm, professional, efficient and effective leadership of the Conference.
3. I also wish to thank all the Members for the trust and empowerment you have placed in me to lead FAO for a second term.
4. By approving the 2024-25 budget proposal, you have shown it is not only a matter of money, but more important you have shown your solidarity, humanity and passion to the people whom this Organization serves.
5. The Conference has also endorsed the Medium Term Plan 2022-25 and Programme of Work and Budget 2024-25.
6. We can call this a “historic step”, as the 12-year cycle of a flat nominal budget has ended with Members approval of a 5.6% increase for costs.
7. Even more important is the strong political signal to the world you have shown through your statements and by this budget approval, the importance of food and agriculture during the current global situation, and the current prospects for SDG achievement, cannot be underestimated.
8. We will continue to work hard to deliver more and better results that you expect. I will play my role as head of the Organization neutrally, professionally and honestly.
9. Members have re-affirmed the robust roadmap and action plans under the overall guidance of the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31,
10. And its strategic narrative of supporting the 2030 Agenda through the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems,
11. For better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
12. During this past week I had the opportunity to hold 56 bilateral meetings with Ministers, Heads of Delegation and high-level representatives, which reaffirmed and strengthened the fruitful collaboration we have at the country level, regional level and global level.
13. Let us continue, together, to make every effort to serve the farmers of the world to the best of our collective ability, especially at the local and regional level,
14. And to keep food and agriculture at the top of the global agenda through FAO, its knowledge products, its platforms like the World Food Forum, and a number of key initiatives.
15. I wish to thank my Core Leadership Team and Senior Managers at headquarters, in the regions and in the countries for their support during my first term, leading us to achieve Excellence 1.0 during unprecedented global challenges.
16. I wish to thank all FAO employees for their passion, their loyalty and their unwavering efforts, working together to achieve FAO’s mandate.
17. New term has started with new spirit, new energy and new working style driven by our common passion and mandate to transform global agrifood systems, to accelerate rural development and to ensure food security and nutrition for all – leaving no one behind.
18. We need recovery from the pandemic and conflicts, we need to reform our system to fit the purpose, we need to rebuild FAO’s network and capacity, and we need a renaissance of FAO for a better future – the “four Rs”.
19. Let us roll up our sleeves and get the busy work done to reach Excellence 2.0.
20. Thank you to all the delegates who have traveled from far to be with us this week here in Rome. I wish you safe travels home.
21. For those remaining in the Eternal City, I wish you an enjoyable summer season.
22. Before closing, I wish to congratulate Dr. Hans Hoogeveen as Independent Chair of the Council for another two years of service with us.
23. Let us work even more coherently and more effectively for the people who need FAO the most.
24. Thank you.