Bilateral meeting with the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, H.E. Shavkat Mirziyoyev

President Mirziyoyev expressed appreciation for the Director-General’s personal leadership in reforming FAO to make the Organization more agile and efficient in responding to ongoing challenges. He noted that the recent FAO Science and Innovation Strategy, as well as the new FAO Strategy on Climate Change, are effective tools in supporting the transformation of global agrifood systems.

The President expressed full support to FAO’s initiatives, including the Hand-in-Hand Initiative, 1000 Digital Villages Initiatives, and the One Country One Priority Product Initiative. He informed the Director-General that he has given task to implementing those initiatives in Uzbekistan as they are fully aligned with the country’s priorities and strategy for developing its agriculture.

The Director-General thanked the President for his support and expressed appreciation for Uzbekistan’s strong commitment to FAO’s work. He noted that his reform aims to accelerate the transformation of agrifood systems so that they become more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable.

President Mirziyoyev emphasized that FAO is a long-standing partner for Uzbekistan, and that in his capacity as Prime Minister he had opened the FAO Country Office in Uzbekistan in 2014. Since then, the capacity of the Country Programme Framework (CPF) has grown three-fold and covered more than 60 projects in total. Recent projects are focusing on strengthening policy and national capacity, developing agrifood value chains and access to markets, sustainable management of natural resources, climate change and biodiversity. For the next CPF 2026-2030 the President suggested boosting cooperation to include, among others, early monitoring and forecasting to minimize risks of food insecurity, a Plant Gene Bank for the Central Asian region, and digitalization of agriculture.

The President further confirmed Uzbekistan’s commitment to fully engage with FAO on water management and climate change mitigation, including the possibility of working through the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) and other donors to address issues affecting the Aral Sea.

Both leaders discussed the upcoming international conference on Food Security and Agrifood Systems, to be held in Sаmаrkапd, Uzbekistan, from 7 to 8 September 2023. The Conference, organized by the Government with the technical support from FAO, will assess the status of measures to achieve SDG 2 and sustainable agriculture by 2030. The Director-General noted that it could be an opportunity to showcase solutions for Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) from the region.

After the meeting, the Director-General and the President visited the recently refurbished Uzbekistan Lounge, a space to promote the country’s history and agriculture in the FAO HQ.

On 7 June, the Director-General met separately with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan, H.E. Jamshid Khodjaev, accompanied by the Minister for Agriculture, H.E. Aziz Voitov.

The Director-General thanked the Deputy Prime Minister for the regional leadership provided as Chair of 32nd FAO Regional Conference for Europe. Minister Khodjaev expressed his gratitude for FAO’s support, which facilitated a new platform for dialogue with FAO Members in Central Asia, noting that through FAO’s facilitation, the Meeting of Central Asian Agriculture Ministers has become an effective tool for regional collaboration. The FAO Director-General expressed appreciation for the important role Uzbekistan plays in sharing its knowledge with neighbors and other landlocked countries.