Vice Minister Emanuela Del Re received at the Foreign Ministry Juan Luca Restrepo, General Manager of Bioversity International, an international organisation based in Maccarese and part of the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) Consortium. The meeting enabled the Vice Minister to describe the most important current and future initiatives of the Bioversity International-CIAT Alliance (International Centre for Tropical Agriculture).
The Vice Minister expressed her appreciation for the Alliance’s efforts to help its partners address today’s global challenges of poverty, climate change, pandemics, through research-based solutions to exploit agricultural biodiversity. “We see research as a crucial tool to manage COVID-19 crisis and promote resilience against future shocks”. – VM Del Re stated.
She then confirmed her support for the organisation of the Second International Congress on Agrobiodiversity, to be held in Rome next year, as a strategic tool to involve all stakeholders in the management of agrobiodiversity and the conservation of genetic resources.
“Our priority is to build a multi-stakeholder multi-sector mechanism capable of mobilising both resources and technical expertise to promote advocacy initiatives and prevent the health crisis from becoming a food crisis. – the Vice Minister affirmed.
Eventually, VM Del Re confirmed the desire for closer operational cooperation between the Alliance and the Italian Development Cooperation system, including our research centres.
