Monaco takes part in 41st session of FAO Conference

H.E. Mr Robert Fillon, Monaco’s Ambassador to Italy and Permanent Representative to the FAO, and Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. © DR

A Monegasque delegation comprising H.E. Mr Robert Fillon, Monaco’s Ambassador to Italy and Permanent Representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and Elodie Martin, Programme Manager in the Department of International Cooperation, took part in the 41^st session of the FAO Conference at the organisation’s headquarters in Rome from 22 to 28 June 2019.

During the Conference, Qu Dongyu was elected to the post of Director-General for a four-year term, after winning 108 votes to 71 for Catherine Geslin-Lanéelle, the French candidate supported by the European Union.

The work of the Conference was devoted to high-level interventions by heads of government or ministers on the state of food and agriculture in their respective countries, and on their cooperation with the FAO.

The organisation’s programme of work and budget, drawn up by current Director-General José Graziano da Silva, were approved by the member states. Both are expressions of a policy focused on control of the food chain, avoiding excessive industrialisation of agricultural production in developing countries and emphasising practices that promote sustainable development and support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Principality of Monaco joined the FAO in 2001. It became a member of the organisation’s Council for the first time on 1 July 2019, in which capacity it will serve a four-year term.

On the margins of the 41^st session of the FAO Conference, Isabelle Rosabrunetto and Daniel Gustafson, FAO Deputy Director-General for Programmes, in the presence of representatives from the Government of Morocco, signed a funding agreement for a project to help reduce food losses and food waste in date, apple and fig production in Morocco’s oasis systems.

Globally, at least a third of the food produced every year is lost or wasted. This has become a key issue on the international agenda, due to the economic, social and environmental consequences it entails. During a special audience granted to delegates at the 41^st session of the FAO Conference, His Holiness Pope Francis also reiterated the need for a sense of social responsibility and greater awareness in relation to this problem.

The main aim of the three-year project which Monaco is supporting is to reduce agricultural losses in date, apple and fig production in the Tata, Tinghir, Figuig and Imlchil-Amellago regions by 15%, and to achieve sustainable management of natural resources in these areas. The project also falls under the Decade of Family Farming initiative launched by the FAO in May 2019 and is a concrete example of the Prince’s Government’s commitment to tackling the challenges of food security alongside the FAO. The funding agreement was signed on the eve of Monaco’s accession to the FAO Council.

Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, surrounded by Imane Louati, Head of Multilateral Affairs at the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture, and Daniel Gustafson, FAO Deputy Director-General for Programmes. © DR

Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and Daniel Gustafson, FAO Deputy Director-General for Programmes, sign the agreement. © DR