ROME, July 3 (Xinhua) — Delegates from member nations of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) praised China’s remarkable contributions to global food security, and expressed anticipation for closer collaboration in the fight against poverty and for zero hunger.
The remarks came after Qu Dongyu, incumbent FAO director-general, was re-elected earlier on Sunday during the ongoing 43rd session of the FAO Conference, the highest governing body of the Rome-based UN agency. His second term will run from Aug. 1, 2023, to July 31, 2027.
Founded in 1945 and headquartered in Rome, Italy, FAO is a specialized UN agency leading cooperation in food and agriculture. The organization plays a vital role in global food and agricultural policy exchanges, standard-setting, information gathering and statistics.
Qu, who was elected in June 2019 to head the UN agency and the first Chinese national to serve in the position, is expected to further boost China’s cooperation with FAO and its member nations in the coming years, said delegates to the session on Sunday.
China’s endeavors in eliminating poverty and ending hunger have greatly impressed many delegates, including Bassam Essam Rady Abdelhamid Rady, Egypt’s permanent representative ambassador to FAO.
“I think China has made a tremendous job during the past years and it will continue to make progress, especially at this critical moment that the world is witnessing, after the crisis of COVID-19 and the crisis of Russia-Ukraine,” said Rady.
Egypt, an active participator in FAO’s South-South Cooperation (SSC) Program, appreciates China’s “major and pivotal role” in this field, he noted.
Since the SSC was launched by FAO in 1996, China has always been actively involved and played a very important leading role in the SSC and has donated 130 million U.S. dollars to FAO since 2009, exclusively for South-South and triangular cooperation.
The Chinese government has also provided considerable agricultural technical assistance to developing countries. To date, China has dispatched more than 1,000 Chinese experts and technicians, through FAO, to Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the South Pacific.
Egypt is honored to have a part in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative by aligning the initiative with Egypt’s national projects in the seaports and Suez Canal, said Rady.
The collaboration serves not only the interests of the two countries, but also that of the world and all humanity, and is for the betterment of the job that FAO is doing, he added.
“Bangladesh and China enjoy extremely cordial bilateral relations, and we have a multi-faceted collaboration,” said Shameem Ahsan, Bangladeshi permanent representative to FAO. “And I think both countries can immensely benefit by collaborating and even exploring other new areas of cooperation.”
During the session, Chinese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Tang Renjian reaffirmed his country’s international responsibilities as a major developing country for global food security.
China will firmly practice multilateralism, and work with other countries to ensure global food security, eradicate poverty, achieve zero hunger, and push to achieve the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, said Tang.