12 January 2024, Kathmandu: FAO Director-General QU Dongyu and the Honourable Beduram Bhusal, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal met during the Director-General’s visit to Kathmandu.
The Minister thanked FAO for the technical assistance provided to the country, including through the introduction of new technologies and internationally validated best practices, addressing persisting and emerging challenges in the agriculture and natural resource management sectors, as well as combating the impacts of the climate crisis. The Minister further highlighted the jointly launched Country Programming Framework (CPF) for 2023-2027, which was hailed as a landmark initiative to revolutionize agrifood systems in the country.
The Director-General was appreciative of the active cooperation between the Organization and Nepal, particularly through the FAO Hand-in-Hand Initiative, the One Country One Priority Product Initiative and the 1000 Digital Villages Initiatives. Noting Nepal’s huge potential, QU reaffirmed FAO’s support in assisting the country with the transformation of its agrifood systems.
The pair also noted that FAO was the first UN Agency to begin working in Nepal in 1951 – the year Nepal joined the FAO. Since then, FAO has cooperated with the Government to promote agricultural development, enhance food security and nutrition, strengthen rural livelihoods and develop institutional capacity.
