FAO signs partnership and liaison office agreement with Kazakhstan
FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and Kazakhstan's Minister of Agriculture Assylzhan Mamytbekov.
FAO's new partnership progamme with Kazakhstan will facilitate international cooperation efforts, bringing FAO and the government together to support of national development goals and priorities as well as assist other countries in the region.
The new office will promote cooperation with donors and financial institutions, scientific circles, multilateral agencies and other key partners, particularly by creating in Kazakhstan an Islamic Organization For Food Security which will play a key role in ensuring food security under the aegis of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
In his address at the signing ceremony, FAO Director-General highlighted that the establishment of a Partnership and Liaison Office in Kazakhstan will strengthen FAO's partnership with Kazakhstan and open up new opportunities for cooperation in pursuit of common goals.
Graziano da Silva met the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, yesterday during the VIII Astana Economic Forum. Nazarbayev underscored the importance of addressing food insecurity, being among the three global challenges. Graziano da Silva congratulated the President for achieving the first three Millennium Development Goals and praised Kazakhstan for maintaining since 1990 the total number and proportion of undernourished people at under five percent of the population.
During the mission to Astana Graziano da Silva visited Astana's Agrarian and Technological University and gave a lecture on global food security challenges. He encouraged students to help contribute to the fight against hunger through agricultural research and development.
The Director-General was awarded with the academic rank of Honorable Professor by the University.
FAO has been working in Kazakhstan since 1970, focusing on sustainable natural resource management, food safety and organic food production, animal health and livestock production.
Since then, the Government of Kazakhstan in partnership with FAO's Investment Centre has leveraged almost $740 million from financing partners, particularly the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to boost the country's agriculture sector.
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