Page 4 - Vol.38-No.9

25 years of cooperation with $5.5 million
EDITORIAL

initiative to help face the global grain crisis

With the launch of a new technical assistance package for ensure the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition,
several Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries, the a better environment and a better life for all - leaving no one
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) behind,” underscored FAO Director-General Qu.
and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United “FAO looks forward to stepping up its 25-year partnership
Nations (FAO) marked on Monday 25 years of joint efforts with the EBRD for even stronger collaboration to achieve the
towards more sustainable agri food systems. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” he added.
To celebrate the occasion, ERBD President, Odile Re- “We are proud of the work done together with FAO in
naud-Basso, met with FAO Director-General QU Dongyu the past 25 years and we will continue to strengthen our
at the FAO headquarters in Rome, where they planted an cooperation in the foreseeable future,” said EBRD President
olive tree as a symbol of the long-term cooperation between Renaud-Basso.
both organizations. “Boosting food security is one of the EBRD’s priorities and,
An initiative focused on improving food security together with FAO, we are able to put our joint expertise in
The two heads of institutions also officially launched the finance and technical solutions to the benefit of the regions
new $5.5 million package of technical assistance to improve where we both operate. The new technical assistance pro-
food security in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia gramme in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean is the
-as well as the West Bank and Gaza. latest example,” she added.
The joint initiative, which will kick off in January, is a timely Over two decades of cooperation
response to the crisis in grain markets, which has made global FAO and EBRD started their cooperation in 1997, which
food security more precarious. has paved the way for 200 joint technical assistance projects
The initiative will help governments revisit some of their worth $60 million.
agrifood policies, for example, by improving long-term re- The joint efforts have been focusing on supporting the
silience of the grain value chain. development of sustainable agrifood value chains in Eastern
The package supports public and private investments in and Central Europe, Central Asia, and the Southern and Eastern
upgrading national grain import systems, including the de- Mediterranean, combining FAO’s technical and policy facili-
velopment of more efficient procurement and better storage tation skills with EBRD’s investment capacity and expertise.
infrastructures. The EBRD President and the FAO Director-General reaf-
Finally, the initiative will also help countries re-assess their firmed their commitment to their long-term cooperation
own food production potential, looking at climate and en- efforts, noting that transforming agrifood systems typically
vironmental constraints and maximizing the value of local requires a combination of financing and technical solutions
production, including through trade diversification. that both their institutions can provide together, building on
This new technical assistance package complements the their comparative strengths.
EBRD’s individual financing for these countries. Tunisia, for Recently the EBRD and FAO have worked together on
instance, has received a $150.5 million loan to buy cereals analysing and understanding the ongoing global food secu-
in the face of the global markets’ crisis. rity challenges and their impact on specific countries and
“Transforming agrifood systems calls for a range of technical regions. The two institutions also organised several events
solutions, enabling policies and investment. Together with the to promote global dialogue on food security, including a panel
EBRD and other partners, FAO has been supporting Members at the EBRD’s 2022 Annual Meeting, a joint event with the
to move forward on these three fronts simultaneously to World Trade Organisation and a panel at COP27 in Egypt.

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