Colombo, 17 August 2023 (TDI): The Sri Lankan Foreign Minister (FM) Ali Sabry met with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Country Representative of Sri Lanka and Maldives, Vimlendra Sharan.
The parties discussed the arrangements regarding the upcoming 37th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific, during the meeting.
The 37th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific will be held in Sri Lanka, in February 2024.
FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific
The FAO Regional Conference, convened every two years, results in recommendations that guide FAO’s work in the Asia-Pacific region, and provide further guidance to FAO’s global conference.
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Such Regional Conferences are an official forum for Member States’ Ministers of Agriculture and other high officials to debate challenges related to food and agriculture, thus promoting regional coherence.
Government Ministers and delegates from more than 40 member countries across the Asia-Pacific region usually participate in the Conference.
FAO’s Role in Sri Lanka
The principal goal of FAO’s program in Sri Lanka is the reduction of food insecurity, malnutrition, and vulnerabilities, and the sustainable management and use of the country’s natural resources.
From 2018 to 2022, the Country Programming Framework (CPF) guides FAO’s partnership and support to the Government of Sri Lanka and brings together innovative international practices and global standards with national and regional expertise.
Recently, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) delivered 8,360 metric tonnes of urea fertilizer in Sri Lanka on August 7, 2023, to the Ministry of Agriculture, for distribution during the forthcoming Maha cropping season.
The agricultural support, however, was made possible through funding from the government of Japan.
In response to the urea fertilizer distribution, the Sri Lankan Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera appreciated the initiative and highlighted the significance of the support in advancing Sri Lanka’s agricultural goals.
