TEHRAN- Iran’s Minister of Agriculture, emphasizing the need to guarantee the right of all people in the world to access food by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said: “US unilateralism and warmongering have disrupted and created problems for global food security and the transfer of food and agricultural products in the world.”
According to an IRNA report from the Ministry of Agriculture, Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh, who traveled to Italy to participate in the 54th session of the Committee on World Food Security, met with Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), at the organization’s headquarters in Rome and discussed global food security conditions and the development of cooperation between Iran and FAO.
In this meeting, the Minister of Agriculture, emphasizing that food security and access to food are among the undeniable and basic rights of all human beings in the world, called for a more serious role by international organizations, especially FAO, in confronting obstacles to the supply and movement of food in the world.
Announcing Iran’s readiness to expand cooperation with FAO, he said: “Iran has gained valuable experience in the field of food security, which we can share with FAO and other interested countries.”
Nouri stressed the need to develop technical and credit cooperation with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and said: “Over the past year, in addition to confronting the sanctions of recent decades, we have also faced war, aggression, and blockade, but economic and social resilience showed that Iran’s food security supply system and agricultural production cycle are resilient even under critical conditions.”
He also explained to the FAO Director-General the measures, experiences, and achievements of the government, the private sector, and economic actors in Iran’s agricultural sector for maintaining the sustainability of food security under difficult conditions.
The Minister of Agriculture, emphasizing that food security and access to food are among the basic and undeniable rights of human beings, stated: “International organizations, especially FAO, bear an important mission and responsibility in safeguarding this fundamental right, and it is necessary for them to act more seriously to realize it.”
Referring to the need to strengthen international mechanisms in the field of food security, Nouri proposed that FAO, in cooperation with other UN bodies, form a special working group to examine and resolve global food security challenges, especially obstacles to access to food and its movement, and to carry out the necessary follow-ups in this regard.
Nouri, criticizing the unilateral measures and warmongering of the United States in the world, stated: “These measures have faced the movement and transfer of food at the global level with serious problems and have affected countries’ access to food resources.”
The Minister of Agriculture, stating that today the issue of food and its abnormal price increase has become one of the most important issues in the world, said: “International organizations must, by understanding the importance and urgency of this issue, pursue their responsibility to guarantee equitable and sustainable access of all human beings to food more seriously.”
Qu Dongyu, FAO Director-General, also in this meeting, expressing interest in expanding cooperation with Iran, emphasized the importance of interaction and cooperation among member states to achieve sustainable food security.
Recalling Iran’s role in the formation of FAO, he referred to our country’s membership as one of the first members of this organization.
It is worth noting that the Minister of Agriculture, on the sidelines of attending the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, held international meetings and met with his counterparts from FAO member states, and also spoke with an Italian media outlet.
The Minister of Agriculture, criticizing the contradictory behavior of some countries toward the principles of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said: “The use of food and unilateral sanctions and economic blockades as tools of political pressure, or the use of hunger as a weapon in conflicts, contradicts humanitarian principles and the spirit of FAO’s founding.”
According to a report by IRNA from the Ministry of Agriculture, Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh, at the 54th session of the Committee on World Food Security—held with the participation of agriculture and food security ministers of member states of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at the organization’s headquarters in Rome, said: “Today we stand at a sensitive point in the history of humanity, a point where access to sufficient and healthy food is considered not only a basic need but one of the most fundamental human rights. Today, global food security faces unprecedented challenges, ranging from severe climate change and consecutive droughts to regional and international conflicts.”
Nouri Ghezeljeh, stating that the preamble to the Constitution of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has based the raison d’être of this institution on several key principles—raising levels of nutrition and welfare, improving the efficiency of production and distribution of agricultural products, and ensuring humanity’s freedom from hunger—said: “The commitment of member states to these concepts is not merely a ceremonial duty; rather, sustainable peace and equitable development in access to food in the world are impossible without the practical adherence of all members to these commitments.”
MA
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