WORLD FOOD FORUM 2025 CLOSING CEREMONY Closing Statement

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Friends,

Good afternoon!

I know you did not want me to come earlier, you still wanted to have more time to show, to enjoy, to learn and talk to each other - face to face, heart to heart. That is the real additional value of the World Food Forum!   

This week has been truly extraordinary! 

Fantastic!

Perfecto!

Extraordinary in its diversity of voices, in its depth of ideas and in the spirit of solidarity that has united us.

The fifth World Food Forum has once again proven that it is more than a gathering.

It is a transformative movement, it is a global movement – As Chairman Mao from my home province said, “younger generations are like a single spark, they can start a prairie fire”. A prairie fire is not a single spark, each one of you is a single spark. That is what I learned when I was a kid. You come together and you make a big prairie fire, a very positive dynamic one!

All of this is driven by people and guided by the conviction that food is the foundation of our shared future.

Before I look ahead, allow me to begin with gratitude.

To every participant, here in Rome and online across the globe.

To youth, Indigenous Peoples, women leaders, farmers, scientists, investors, artists, innovators.

Your presence, your voices, your passion gave this Forum its heartbeat. You can feel the heartbeat time; it is much faster in Rome than in other parts of the world because of you. 

This year, I said it so many times, was historic.

We marked FAO’s 80th anniversary — celebrating eight decades of service to food and agriculture, and reaffirming our shared mission:

A world free from hunger and malnutrition. A future for everyone that is peaceful, sustainable, prosperous and foods-secure.

A world free from want.

We also celebrated World Food Day under the theme: “Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future.”

A theme that reflects our times. A reminder that no single nation, no single actor, no single generation can transform agrifood systems alone. Only together, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, can we succeed.

This week also saw the inauguration of FAO Food and Agriculture Museum and Network called MuNe. 

MuNe is a bridge that connects heritage with innovation, tradition with technology, the past linkagewith the future.

It tells the story of food as humanity’s shared language, reminding us that the struggle for food security is also a struggle for identity, resilience, and imagination.

And then, of course, there is still this Forum itself.

This year, the World Food Forum expanded, evolved, and accelerated its impact.

This week – although we have been creating all year long; we started the 365 days countdown with a thematic activity each week, each month – we started already last Friday with the opening of the first ever global exhibition From Seeds to Foods that went on all weekend.

I am sorry, we kept a lot of people busy, including Ambassadors, busy all weekend! For farmers, and FAO staff, they are used to working on weekends. 

We need efficient, effective and extraordinary efforts to make FAO really excellent. That was the ‘4 Es’, and now we have come to the ‘4 Rs’, so we have to speed up.

In this week alone, the Forum:

That is a real phenomenon! 

Last year, I said that for first time I talked about a billion. Now, again, it is approaching two billion. That is something phenomenal. I am so happy!

These numbers are not just statistics. They are proof of reach, of scale, and of growing impact. But more importantly, I interpret it because people are joining voluntarily. Because online they saw that the World Food Forum is something useful, something attractive and meaningful for them. 

If you visited the exhibition, on the first day we opened it there were not so many people, because it had just started. However, over the weekend, there was a long queue to see the exhibition. Deputy Director-General Maurizio Martina was involved with the World Exhibition in Milan 10 years ago, and they had long queues there too. However, we had a very technically specific and professional exhibition, not like the Milan Expo which was more comprehensive. 

I told Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol and other relevant directors that we had started with a single spark, and that this would become a whole prairie fire– but not a harmful fire, a very good fire! 

This week revealed three truths:

First: Youth are not only the future — they are leaders of today working hand in hand with all of us.

Youth include everyone from the age of seven to 70! It includes the young and the young-at-heart!

Through more than 80 sessions of the Global Youth Action Forum, we witnessed their ideas, their creativity, their courage.

We saw youth push boundaries and challenge what we think is possible - through innovation challenges, assemblies, roundtables, and local action.

Second: Science and innovation are indispensable.

The Science and Innovation Forum gave us a glimpse of what is possible - solutions for the climate crisis, digital agriculture, integrated sustainable water and soil management.

We saw the power of Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge and modern science working together.

We held over 30 sessions across disciplines, reminding us that transformation depends on evidence, creativity and the courage to explore new frontiers.

Third: Investment is what turns potential into progress.

The Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum showcased opportunities worth USD 17.2 billion, 31 countries and six regional initiatives shared plans that can change lives for 160 million beneficiaries.

Two years ago, we started with some investment plans that now have found investors. I was informed by the Minister of Papua New Guinea that he had come here two years ago, and now the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has invested USD 40 million. Papua New Guinea is not a big country, but USD 40 million is big! At FAO, we could not have given them even USD 4 million. 

So, I always said, if you have a big idea, design big, do concrete and with a little passion and patience you will realize your dream. 

Now, we have changed the business model and are dealing with the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) as one group to facilitate further investment.

This is not just talk. It is measurable action — new investments, new partnerships, new possibilities launched right here in Rome.

And this year, we welcomed the Rome Water Dialogue, for the first time it is fully integrated as a part of the World Food Forum to facilitate the attention of all partners working on water issues, which are important not only for agriculture, but also for urban life, for daily life, and for the environment, among others. 

It is important to bring all the partners together at a single event, even though it is not always easy. We achieve this we need to work together in a coherent way.  

And placing water - the lifeblood of agriculture - at the center of our conversations, where it belongs. 

We held the South-South and Triangular Cooperation Ministerial Dialogue, strengthening solidarity and collaboration across the globe.

And we hosted a number of other sessions and events that added new dimensions to the Forum. Every year we have something new, that is evolution. Of course, you can keep 80 percent constant, but 20 percent should always be new. That is the real value of this business model. 

For Governing Bodies, if we add one item, you have so much negotiation. That is necessary, I am not against it, but we need some mechanism to do real business efficiently and effectively - for the Members on the ground and to the field. 

To remind ourselves that agrifood systems are not one story, but many stories - woven together by shared responsibility and shared hope.

Beyond the numbers. Beyond the events. What I saw this week moved me deeply.

I saw partnerships take root.

I saw how our partners have come to Rome to demonstrate their unwavering support: from His Holiness Pope Leo XIV – this was the first time he came to speak at an international organization, a UN organization – who shared with personally us his vision, his passion.

I value it highly, it was a great honour for FAO, and of course for myself personally. No matter what your religion, we got spiritual power from him. I really appreciated his passion and his leadership. Let us give him special applause. 

And also, to the Kings, and the Queens, Presidents, Prime Ministers, and over fifty-four Ministers, and about 100 Vice-Ministers. 

And Italy, our host country, as Deputy Director-General Godfrey Magwenzi said, for a few hours we had all the top representatives of the government here with us: the President, Prime Minister, Vice-Prime Ministers and Ministers.

I am really touched. I have always said how important it is to have a good relationship with our host, otherwise we would feel isolated.

It is not good for business, and it is not even good for your health.

Healthy relationships help us to have a healthy life, and, of course, a healthy business model.

Any small change would not be possible without the support of the host country, and not necessarily just for resources. We live here in Rome, we drink water from Rome, we breathe fresh air from Rome, and we eat foods from Rome. So, we really appreciate everything that our host city Rome offers to us.

Look at the FAO-Circo Massimo metro station. Without the support from the Mayor of Rome, it would not have been possible to change the name of the subway stop or paint art on the walls.

Over the years I have been invited to participate in all important events here in Rome and in Italy, thanks also to the work of Deputy Director-General Maurizio Martina, who was a former Minister of Agriculture. 

Our leader Deng Xiaoping said “No matter whether the cat is black or white. A cat who can catch a mouse is a good cat.”

I do not care if it you are a Minister, a President, or a farmer, or even my driver. If they can help me, then you are my friend. If they do not help me, then you are just a friend from a distance.

I am so happy that during the past six years, the Italian government - three Prime Ministers, four Ministers of Agriculture, two Ministers of Foreign Affairs and two Ministers of Infrastructures, as well as two Mayors of Rome - they have all been my friends to support FAO.

Their presence is a powerful testament to the vital role FAO plays in delivering trusted technical knowledge and support to its Members. 

I always say, “All roads lead to Rome.” 

Just today, on this final day of the World Food Forum, His Excellency António Costa, President of the European Council, echoed what so many distinguished leaders have affirmed since the opening and throughout World Food Day: FAO’s expertise and leadership are essential for Europe.

I said publicly last time when I started my second term that maybe I am the right person to be FAO Director-General and to help Europe. Because from the Nordic countries down to Sicily, or even further down to Cyprus, for me it is quite easy, because from Heilongjiang to Hainan, the weather and the agri-zone are the same. China is even bigger with a population three times that of Europe.

So, my advice to Europe is that we need to transform the European agrifood system. We really want to strengthen the collaboration with Europe at large, not only the EU.

And also for all our other Members, for the world – this World Food Forum is a clear recognition of the Organization’s global relevance, credibility, impact.

I saw solidarity across generations, after four editions of the Intergenerational Dialogue – it has become really impressive. We are getting more fit for purpose, across cultures, across continents.

And above all, I saw determination to make this Forum a catalyst for systemic and enduring change.

As we close this fifth World Food Forum, let us remember: 

It is the continuation of something larger.

What we shared here in Rome must not stay in Rome.

It must travel with you into your communities, your laboratories, your parliaments, your businesses and your schools. Not only for FAO staff, for all the partners, all the young and young at heart.

Take the ideas and perspectives you encountered this week and turn them into projects and investments. And then from projects and investments to tangible results and impacts.

Take the commitments you made and turn them into policies.

Take the inspiration you felt and transform it into progress.

The World Food Forum is still young, but its impact is undeniable.

As I have said before, after the third time you know what your direction is and you can speed up and scale up!

So, the Core Leaders now have the direction and a good engine to continue, even after my term as Director-General. 

Next year will be my final World Food Forum so we need to start working now, rolling up our sleeves, to ensure it is even more successful! 

I still have a lot of ideas that have not yet been implemented! So, rest this weekend and on Monday come back refreshed so I can share my new ideas with you! 

This is the new FAO I keep pushing: the “4 Ps”: push, pull, provide and press. That is the ‘4Ps’ I learnt from an American famous human resources expert: the “4Ps” for effective human resources management and development.

Management has a lot of solid power, but for Development you need a lot of wisdom to explore the full potential, it is much more challenging. 

I always come from development ideas and push them towards more serious management. 

In just five years, the World Food Forum has shown us what is possible when people unite around a common cause.

Imagine what we can achieve in the next five years!

When I saw the Holy Father, I invited him to come celebrate the 100th anniversary of FAO together, 20 years from now. Then we can look back at what we have done here today.

Some of us will have retired by then but we will have been part of the historic legacy. 

So never give up! Let us not slow down, but rather accelerate!

We also have a new Acceleration Room, with the support of the Dutch Government, so let’s make the most of it! 

Let us move forward with the same courage, creativity and solidarity we have seen here this week.

If we carry that spirit with us, the momentum of this week will live forever. Because in English, you always say ‘momentum’. Momentum means one second, or one minute, or one hour. No, I do not like momentum. I want it to last forever.

And it will make us Better Together!

Working Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future.

Thank you for making the 2025 World Food Forum a great extraordinary success!

You should be proud!

Enjoy your weekend!

Thank you, thank you so much.