Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met with Qu Dongyu, the Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), on Sunday to discuss various issues, including the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where people are facing famine due to the blockade. The official spokesperson for the Egyptian presidency, Ahmed Fahmy, said that the meeting addressed Egypt's efforts to provide aid to the people of Gaza. The FAO director praised Egypt's role and expressed the organization's readiness to support its humanitarian initiatives in the Gaza Strip. Fahmy also said that the meeting reaffirmed the strong partnership between Egypt and FAO, which is reflected in the numerous development projects in the fields of agriculture and food, as well as in the signing of the new country agreement between the two sides for the period 2024-2027. Additionally, the meeting discussed the global food crisis, especially the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on Egypt, which is one of the world's largest grain importers. President Al-Sisi explained that Egypt is seeking to overcome this challenge by achieving a breakthrough in the area of agricultural land and increasing productivity through scientific and technological research. He highlighted the large-scale agricultural projects implemented by the state, which resulted in the cultivation of hundreds of thousands of new acres, which will reach 4 million acres in the coming years. The FAO director said that he and the organization are following the Egyptian experience in agricultural development closely and expressed his desire to enhance the existing cooperation between Egypt and the organization to help Egypt achieve its ambitious goals of improving food security for the Egyptian people.
