Director of FAO Moscow Office participates in a meeting on the establishment of a seed-breeding center in Uganda

Representatives of the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation (FAOLOR) attended a meeting at the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo) on August 19, that discussed the initiative to establish, with the assistance of the Russian Federation, a Plant- and Seed-breeding Centre in the Republic of Uganda as part of the “Science and Education Initiative for Uganda and East African Nations”.

The Initiative, which the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation has been implementing since autumn 2019, aims to assist the development of the Republic of Uganda and the other countries of the region, and boost the efficiency of their economies with the help of Russian R&D and innovations, and education programmes.

Mr Oleg Kobiakov, FAOLOR Director, and Mr Aghasi Harutyunyan, Deputy Director, represented the Organization at the meeting. Mr Oleg Kobiakov presented the FAO country programme in Uganda, stressing also the recent Russian contribution of USD 10 mln in support of the fight against the Desert Locust outbreak in East Africa, including Uganda.

The Director of the FAO Moscow Office expressed the Organization's readiness to support the initiative to establish a Plant- and Seed Breeding Centre in Uganda and, more generally, programmes of scientific and education cooperation with African countries.

Practical steps aimed at the creation of the Centre are scheduled for the second half of 2021.

The meeting at Rossotrudnichestvo was attended by representatives of Russian federal ministries and agencies, the private sector, as well as interested research and academic institutions.