Egypt was unanimously elected as a member of the General Committee of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) conference, which began its 44th session in Rome on Monday. Egyptian Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Alaa Farouk is attending the event, which was opened by FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu. The General Committee, comprising only seven of the organisation's 194 member states, is responsible for reviewing all decisions and conclusions from the conference and providing recommendations for their final adoption. The opening session also saw the election of a new conference president and vice-presidents. The FAO Conference is the organisation's supreme governing body and typically meets every two years to discuss policy and make decisions on global food and agriculture issues. This session is set to address numerous food security and agricultural topics that are currently high on the international agenda. Farouk stated that the conference is a vital platform for discussing current global challenges related to food security, climate change, and sustainable agricultural development. "Its importance is increasing in this critical phase, which requires concerted international efforts to find innovative and sustainable solutions to ensure the provision of sufficient and safe food for all countries," he said in a statement. The minister noted that Egypt is participating in the conference to exchange expertise and leading practices in areas such as smart agriculture, water resource management, and climate change adaptation, in order to enhance its food security and reduce its food gap. Saad Mousa, the Supervisor of Foreign Agricultural Relations at the ministry, said Farouk's participation reflects Egypt's role in U.N. agricultural organisations, particularly the FAO. He also noted that the minister is holding bilateral meetings with his counterparts to enhance agricultural cooperation. Saad Mousa and Mina Rizk, the Alternate Representative to the U.N. organisations at the Egyptian Embassy, also attended the session.
