FAO Media Advsor[cid:b0ca6ce6-2595-4b5b-8d62-a904050319cf]



FAO Director-General to join G20 Foreign Affairs and Development Ministerial Meetings

29 June 2021, Matera, Italy



The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will participate in the G20 Foreign Affairs and Development Ministerial Meetings in Matera, Italy, where - for the first time - food security will be at the centre of the agenda.



FAO Director-General QU Dongyu will travel to Matera and speak on 29 June 2021 at the:

  *   Joint G20 Foreign Affairs and Development Ministers’ Meeting (15.20);
  *   G20 Development Ministers’ Meeting (18.00).

The Director-General will also join the G20 Presidency, Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio, to deliver joint statements.



FAO believes that agriculture and food security should be at the top of the global agenda if hunger and poverty are to be eradicated by 2030; and that there is no better time than now for stronger collective actions and commitment to transform agri-food systems if the world is to build back better post COVID-19, and prepare for future crises.



Eighty percent of the world’s poorest — or 600 million people, more than Europe’s entire population — live in rural areas, working in the agricultural sector, and yet go to bed hungry.



One of FAO’s main calls at the G20 Meetings in Matera will be for governments to refocus their energies and investment to rural areas. In rural areas, agriculture is the best weapon to fight against poverty, and undernourishment.



The G20 will encourage countries and partners to collaborate and join the Food Coalition whose goal is to build a global alliance to trigger coordinated action in response to COVID-19.



The Food Coalition - proposed by the Government of Italy in response to the pandemic and led by FAO - supports mobilizing political commitment, financial and technical assistance for countries affected by the current crisis.



FAO has been supporting the work of the G20 since 2011, providing recommendations for concrete actions related to food and agriculture, food security and nutrition, and economic growth and development.



FAO will issue the Director-General’s addresses at the G20 Foreign Affairs and Development Ministers’ Meetings, and a press release on the day of the meetings.



RESOURCES

Info on accreditation for attending the press conference<https://www.g20.org/press-accreditation-for-foreign-affairs-and-development-ministerial-meetings-and-ministerial-event-on-humanitarian-assistance.html>
G20 under the presidency of Italy, 2021<https://www.g20.org/>
FAO – Covid-19 Response and Recovery Programme<http://www.fao.org/partnerships/resource-partners/covid-19/en>
Food Coalition<http://www.fao.org/food-coalition/en/>
FAO – Resilience <http://www.fao.org/resilience/home/en/>
FAO – News<http://www.fao.org/news/en/>



ON TWITTER

@FAOnews

#FoodCoalition

#FoodSystems

#G20Italy



MEDIA CONTACTS
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>

(+39) 06 570 53625



































Journalists & editors:

For photos, audio clips, video material & b-roll, contact: (+39) 06 570 53625 or [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.

Online tools:
Photos via the FAOnews Flickr account<http://www.flickr.com/photos/faonews>
RSS feed<http://www.fao.org/news/rss-feed/en/> of FAO news releases
@FAOnews on Twitter<https://twitter.com/faonews/>

This media advisory was issued by the Media Office at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). To unsubscribe from this news service send an email to [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> with "signoff Media-G-Eng-L" as the only text in the message body.

FAO | Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy | (+39) 06 570 53625 | www.fao.org<http://www.fao.org>