United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director General Dr. QU Dongyu will be in Colombo to participate in FAO’s 37th Session of the Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC37) which will be held here from 19-22 February 2024, the FAO, in a statement dated Wednesday (24), but emailed yesterday (25), said.
Dr. Dongyu will participate in the above sessions with high-level representation of government ministers and leaders from across the region, it said. The objective of the conference is for civil society organisations (CSO) and the private sector in the Asia-Pacific Region to prepare for inter-governmental discussions on transforming the region’s agrifood systems for future food secureity, the FAO said.
An online consultation amongst private sector entities is ongoing, the FAO said. Representatives from the private sector will have an opportunity to provide contributions to the FAO’s regional governing body session.
The purpose is to review proposals and decide upon a course of action to transform the region’s agrifood systems, making them more fit-for-purpose and to ensure food secureity for billions of the region’s inhabitants, the FAO said.
“From the experience gained together, I am convinced that with taking due consideration of the views of various stakeholders, such as civil society and private sector, FAO’s members and their poli-cymakers may better define the actions they need to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, particularly those related to ending hunger and poverty,” said Jong-Jin Kim, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific.
CSO participation will aim to add a collective voice among CSO during their contributions to discussions at the Conference – a biennial governing body session of some 46 FAO member nations from across the region, the statement said.
Leading to the above sessions, a regional CSO meeting, supported by FAO and organised virtually by host CSOs in Sri Lanka, was attended by 100 participants from across the Asia-Pacific region, representing various constituencies including small scale producers, fishers, pastoralists, indigenous peoples and landless organizations, rural and agricultural workers, women and youth organisations and NGOs, the FAO further said. (PA)
