Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, attended today the 4th SDG 16 Conference and opened the plenary session “Promoting participatory decision-making to accelerate transformative action: food systems and climate change” dedicated to the two major challenges of our time – food security and climate change – and to the best governance practices put in place to address them. The session was also attended by FAO Director General Qu Dongyu and WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain.
“Global food insecurity has reached unprecedented levels”, said Minister Tajani, “with the climate crisis being a major cause. We have unfortunately seen this in Emilia-Romagna, recently devastated by catastrophic floods, which came after months of severe drought. Climate change is now an extremely real problem, affecting national and global security. Structural transformations and international coordination are needed so that no one is left behind. With its strategic position at the centre of the Mediterranean, Italy aspires to increasingly act as a bridge between the North and the South of the World, also thanks to the fundamental contribution of its agri-food industry in support of its partner countries, starting with those in the Mediterranean. The Italian Government”, Minister Tajani added, “is committed to promoting food insecurity issues on the international agenda, starting with the second UN Food Systems Summit that Italy will host in Rome at the FAO next July and with the Italian G7 Presidency in 2024”.
