Page 29 - AWA Vol.41-No.3

BELGIUM

Belgium and FAO hold strategic dialogue to solidify

collaboration on ensuring food security

he Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Na-
Ttions (FAO) and the Kingdom of Belgium concluded their
second strategic Dialogue in Brussels, bringing together se-
nior management from both sides. The partners took stock
of their work evolving around joint priorities and shaped the
way forward for their partnership.
“As one of the founding members of FAO, Belgium is a key
strategic partner in helping to advance the Organization’s
development and humanitarian work. This partnership is of
special significance to FAO, given Belgium’s ability to com-
bine its technical expertise, financial contributions, and po-
litical leadership to address the most pressing challenges of
our time”, said FAO Deputy Director-General Maurizio Mar-
tina at the event's opening.
Giving an overview of the partnership at the morning ses-
sion of the meeting, Erwin van de Putte, Head of Cabinet of
the Minister for Development Cooperation and Major Cities
of Belgium said: “ “Belgium is proud to be a founding mem- number of FAO directors, representatives from the Belgian
ber of the FAO and has a long-standing record of support to development agency, the Belgian regional governments, as
the organization, both in terms of financing, political steering well as academics and civil society.
and expertise. As the right to food is a basic human right,
the sustainable transformation of food systems is a strategic During the event, a Memorandum of Understanding with
objective of the Belgian Development Cooperation which Ghent University was signed setting the ground for future
collaboration mainly in the areas of food and nutrition, e-
comprises many programs and instruments focused on agro- learning, innovation and biotechnology, veterinary science,
ecology, access to healthy and nutritious diets, participative and others.
research and innovation, and the development of inclusive
agro-food value chains. By reimagining how we produce, FAO -Belgium collaboration
distribute, consume, and manage food, we have the potential
to make simultaneous progress across a broad spectrum of Belgium is an important FAO resource partner, contribut-
SDGs”. ing USD 37.8 million in assessed and voluntary contributions
during the last biennium (2022-2023), ranking 24th among
The Dialogue provided an opportunity for Belgium to high- top resource partners. Furthermore, Belgium is a major re-
light the importance of its partnership with FAO within the source partner of unearmarked funding, channeling USD 29.5
broader Belgian development agenda, while FAO empha- million of voluntary contributions primarily Circle 39 on enquiry card
sized its alignment with the FAO Strategic Framework 2022- through the Flexible Voluntary Contribution
31. (FVC) mechanism and the Special Fund for Emergency and
Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA).
“We are in a moment of significant changes in the world.
But this moment gives us the opportunity to showcase FAO's Thematically, Belgium contributes not only to emergency
unique contribution to addressing global challenges. The settings but also to the areas of humanitarian agricultural
FAO-Belgium partnership can undoubtedly contribute to it assistance, sustainable agrifood systems and production,
and plays a key role in reaching impact at scale,” said FAO climate change and agriculture, urban youth empowerment,
Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol, while Heidy Rom- nutrition, and healthy diets, as well as innovative gender re-
bouts Director-General of Development Cooperation and Hu- sponses and women's empowerment.
manitarian Aid at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs not- Belgium’s geographic focus is on least developed countries
ed that: “The deterioration of global food security conditions
over the past five years and the growing urgency of climate and fragile contexts, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
action have made FAO’s mandate more relevant than ever. No Side event on agrifood systems transformation and the
single organization, regardless of size or expertise, can tack- HDP nexus
le the complex and systemic challenges of sustainable food
systems in isolation. Belgium brings its expertise to the table A side event organized by the Belgian Directorate-General
thanks to its collaboration with FAO and several other part- for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid took
ners. These partnerships are critical for our common future. place at the end of the two-day meeting, bringing together
We therefore remain committed to further a strong, effective, Belgian development cooperation actors, FAO and WFP. The
and inclusive multilateralism for all.” side event was the occasion to provide an overview of the
collaborative efforts on the two central themes between FAO
FAO management acknowledged the importance of the in- and/or WFP and Belgium’s regional governments, and non-
novative mechanisms through which Belgium contributes to state actors, highlighting concrete examples.
FAO’s work in countries and how it has enhanced FAO’s ca-
pacity to develop more impactful ways of working, respond The roundtable discussion offered the opportunity to all re-
faster to emergencies, and promote early action to mitigate gional and non-state actors to present their current coopera-
the impact of disasters. tion with FAO and WFP, while sharing their perspectives on
how Belgian actors can contribute to helping FAO and WFP
The two-day dialogue focused on three critical areas: the achieve their strategic objectives. During a dedicated ses-
transformation of agrifood systems, climate change, and sion on the HDP nexus, a panel discussion delved deeper into
climate finance, and the humanitarian-development-peace the synergies between humanitarian response, development
(HDP) nexus. initiatives, and peacebuilding efforts for global food security.
The high-level consultation also saw the participation of a Circle 37 on enquiry card
Vol. 41 No. 3 27