Designation Ceremony of Her Royal Highness Princess Basma bint Ali as FAO. Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Near East and North Africa
by Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
27/04/2022
Designation Ceremony of Her Royal Highness Princess Basma bint Ali as FAO. Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Near East and North Africa
Remarks By
Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
As prepared
27 April 2022
Your Royal Highness Princess Basma bint Ali of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,
His Excellency Khaled Hneifat, Minister for Agriculture of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,
Excellences,
Ladies and gentlemen,
1. FAO is committed to achieving sustainable food security in the Near East and North Africa region, and beyond.
2. During these challenging times, FAO is focused on supporting vulnerable communities cope with and recover from shocks and crises due to the many overlapping humanitarian and environmental emergencies.
3. As FAO Regional Goodwill Ambassador for the Near East and North Africa, Her Royal Highness will play an important role in supporting FAO to achieve its objectives.
4. In particular, for protecting, restoring and promoting the sustainable use of terrestrial and marine ecosystems,
5. And addressing the impacts of the climate crisis through the transformation to more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable agrifood systems.
6. For example, Her Royal Highness will assist FAO to raise awareness on the importance of linking forestry to biodiversity conservation efforts,
7. And next week, Her Royal Highness will participate in the 15th World Forestry Congress, which will be hosted by the Republic of Korea with the technical support of FAO.
8. The Congress is an important global forum for debating the state and future of the world’s forests, and will be attended by global representatives of governments, international organizations, civil society and the private sector, among others.
9. Her Royal Highness will address the Congress, and will provide support in communicating the Congress outcomes,
10. Conveying key messages related to forests and their vital role in sustainable development, and for the health, well-being and stability of the planet and its people.
11. Her Royal Highness is a long time supporter of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
12. Most recently, we were honoured to have Her Royal Highness address the High Level Event of the 2021 International Day of Forests, where she spoke on how every tree counts to restore forest biodiversity.
13. For decades, Her Royal Highness has been a strong advocate of biodiversity conservation.
14. In 1995, she co-founded the Royal Marine Conservation Society of Jordan.
15. A decade later, she founded the Royal Botanic Garden in Jordan as a non-governmental, non-profit organization, which works to preserve native plants and ecosystems and promote biodiversity research and environmental learning.
16. Her Royal Highness is also the Chair of Jordan’s National Biodiversity Committee.
17. Her Royal Highness has tirelessly raised awareness in Jordan, and across the Near East and North Africa region, about the urgent importance of preserving native plants and ecosystems, and promoting biodiversity research and environmental learning.
18. As FAO Goodwill Ambassador, Her Royal Highness will help the Organization raise awareness about the importance of transforming the world's agrifood systems to overcome the challenges of persistent and growing hunger, while preserving the planet's environment and biodiversity.
19. We are indeed privileged and honoured that today Your Royal Highness is committing to working even more closely with FAO.
20. It now gives me great pleasure to present Your Royal Highness with this “virtual” scroll, and to convey our deepest and sincere appreciation for Your Royal Highness’s engagement.
21. Your Royal Highness, I look forward to working together to create a better world for all with better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all, leaving no one behind.
22. I thank you.