The Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Edmondo Cirielli, opened yesterday the high-level event “Catalysing global action for sustainable and resilient agri-food systems transformation to accelerate the SDGs”, organised on the sidelines of UNGA by Italy, together with Japan (G7 Presidency), the United Arab Emirates (COP28 Presidency) and FAO.
The event, attended by UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, Japan’s new Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, UAE’s Minister of Climate Change and Environment Mariam Almehiri, and FAO DG Qu Dongyu, provided an opportunity to explore the important link between climate and food security, in continuity with the Second UN Food Systems Summit hosted in Rome last July.
Deputy Minister Cirielli pointed out that “Italy has intensified its support for the international community’s efforts in the field of sustainable transformation of food systems. Food crises and climate change hitting the poorest countries are among the main causes of migratory movements, causes that must be addressed and eradicated”.
Three lines of action are proposed by Deputy Minister Cirielli to tackle global food-related challenges together: “ensuring adequate financial resources for countries in need; adopting consistent policies to reduce carbon emissions and strengthen food production systems against climate change, drought and other extreme events; implementing joint projects to tackle the climate crisis by developing sustainable agriculture”.
Deputy Minister Cirielli recalled Italy’s support for a resumption of the Grain Deal, stating that “food security will be a key priority of the Italian G7 Presidency in 2024, during which we intend to involve the African Union as a permanent interlocutor, developing shared policies with African countries”.
