Rome - FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan concluded their two-day Annual Review Meeting  at FAO's Headquarters in Rome, during which the parties reviewed ongoing projects funded by MAFF and discussed priority areas and further collaboration.

Welcoming the delegation of seven MAFF experts, Daniel Gustafson, FAO Deputy Director-General for Programmes, recalled the success of the Second Japan-FAO Annual Strategic Consultation, and thanked Japan for its important role with FAO in supporting countries in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 SDGs - including the eradication of poverty and hunger. Mr Daiji Kawaguchi, Deputy Director of the International Organizations Division of MAFF, who headed the delegation, acknowledged that Gustafson's visit to Japan had greatly contributed to strengthening FAO-Japan partnership and improving FAO's recognition in Japan. He also appreciated the opportunity at the FAO-MAFF Annual Review Meeting to have face-to-face communication among experts from both parties, thereby building trust, which is key to strong partnership. 

Japan has been one of FAO's top resource partners, and MAFF has provided continued support to FAO, which goes beyond financial resources, to reinforcing the Organization through technical expertise. Currently, MAFF supports 18 FAO projects, globally and regionally, across a broad range of areas, including international standard setting, agricultural statistics, food value chain, climate change adaptation and mitigation, forestry, fisheries, nutrition, food loss and waste, transboundary plant and animal diseases, and the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). MAFF is planning further contributions this year, in support of building statistical capacities of African countries, and of enhancing knowledge and capacity around timber legality.

During the meeting, Mr Kawaguchi presented MAFF's priorities for international cooperation, including food value chain development, eradication of poverty and hunger, and addressing climate change. Gustavo González, Director of the FAO Resource Mobilization Division, welcomed their alignment with FAO's Strategic Programmes and highlighted FAO's willingness to share Japan's knowledge and experience in the food and agriculture sector with other countries, as well as lessons learned in projects funded by MAFF. He reiterated FAO's commitment to value for money, by ensuring effective and efficient implementation of project activities, and providing resource partner visibility.

Both parties called for strengthening their collaboration, building on their discussions at meetings like this, and taking further opportunities at forthcoming events in Japan, including the G20 and Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 7) in 2019, and the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit in 2020. The second part of the Annual Review Meeting with MAFF will take place in Bangkok on 7 March 2018.