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