In the framework of the 41st session of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Olena Kovalova met with the newly elected Director-General of FAO, Dr. Qu Dongyu.

Olena Kovalova congratulated Dr. Qu Dongyu on his election as a head of FAO. During the meeting, the priorities of Ukraine's work as a member state of the Organization were discussed, in particular, the main directions of activity envisaged by the project of the Cooperation Framework Program between FAO and Ukraine until 2022.

She added that Ukraine is ready to continue its cooperation with FAO in order to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.

As it became known during the speech of Dr. Qu Dongyu, his vision for further work of the Organization includes five focuses on: achieving Zero Hunger and eradicating poverty; agriculture in tropical areas; agriculture on land suffering from drought; promotion of digital technologies in agriculture; as well as improving agricultural production and production chains.

Information:

The election of the FAO Director-General took place on 23 June by secret ballot. According to the results, the representative of the People's Republic of China, Qu Dongyu, won the majority of votes - 108 out of 191. From Ukraine, Deputy Minister Olena Kovalova took part in the voting, who headed the Ukrainian delegation at the 41st Session of the FAO Conference.

Dr. Qu Dongyu, currently holds the position the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of China, will become the Ninth Director-General of the Organization and will replace José Graziano da Silva, the Brazilian representative. The new FAO Director-General is elected for a four-year term from August 1, 2019 until July 31, 2023.