Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) -- In light of the global COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health concerns, the Thirty-second Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe (ERC) will be convened virtually from 2 to 4 November 2020. The plenary debate, ministerial roundtable, and all other meetings will be webcast on www.fao.org/webcast

The FAO Regional Conference for Europe is chaired by Uzbekistan for the first time. The delegates elected the Minister of Agriculture of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodjaev as the Chairman of the thirty-second session of the ERC.

FAO hosts Regional Conference for Europe every two years, giving participants a great opportunity to discuss problems related to the main food security challenges in the region. The event was planned to be held on May 5-7, 2020 in Tashkent, however, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, it was decided to postpone it and conduct it in an exceptional manner in virtual mode.

«Thirty-second Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe, where Uzbekistan hosts the first, is an important milestone to assess the progress, to analyse new challenges and opportunities and to identify priorities and prospects of cooperation. I am sure that at this event, the most important decisions will be made to effectively counteract threats and challenges to the regional food security in the medium and long term» - said Sherzod Umarov, Officer in Charge of the FAO Representation in Uzbekistan.

In the run-up to the UN Food Systems Summit 2021, the ERC will focus on sustainable food systems and healthy diets in Europe and Central Asia. The roundtable debate will review the status of nutrition and sustainable food systems, identifying the interlinkages and the related challenges and opportunities in the region.

Another key topic for discussion on the first day of the Conference will be the youth, youth employment and the development of rural areas in the context of the United Nations Decade of Family Farming. The discussion will present a situation analysis of smallholders, family farms, and rural youth in agriculture, including a review of strategies that can revitalize rural areas in the Europe and Central Asia region.

«The 75th anniversary of FAO, which we just commemorated a few days ago, is a historic milestone that reinforces our commitment to ensuring access to nutritious food for everyone and eliminating hunger once and for all. The 32nd Session of FAO’s Regional Conference for Europe is a significant occasion to ensure that this commitment is translated into action. New ideas, strong partnerships and new ways of working towards our common goals of better production, better nutrition, better environment and a better life», QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations noted.

The Conference will zero in on FAO’s future priorities in the region, which have been shaped by the COVID-19 crisis. Events on innovation and digitalization, as well as on the Committee on World Food Security will take place on the sidelines of the ERC. Additionally, the Synthesis of FAO Evaluations 2014–2019 in Europe and Central Asia and FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative will be presented.

The Regional Conference will be conducted in English, French, Russian, and Spanish with simultaneous interpretation. The webcast will be available in all four languages on www.fao.org/webcast

KEY SPEAKERS:

Qu Dongyu, FAO Director-General;

Vladimir Rakhmanin, FAO Assistant Director-General, Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia;

Nabil Gangi, FAO Deputy Regional Representative, ERC Secretary;

Jamshid Khodjaev, Minister for Agriculture of Uzbekistan, Chair;

Agricultural ministers and high-level representatives from over 40 countries and observers.

For reference: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. It was founded in 1945 and composed of 194 member-states.

Uzbekistan joined FAO in 2001. FAO Representation in Uzbekistan was founded in 2014. In accordance with the Country Programming Framework document that gives further guidance to their partnership through 2022, FAO provides support in three priority areas agreed with the Government of Uzbekistan: institutional and policy assistance for the Ministry of Agriculture and other government institutions; agricultural and food value chain development and market access; and sustainable management of natural resources, climate change and biodiversity.