President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will participate, on October 13, in the World Food Forum, in Rome, Italy, an event promoted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). According to Itamaraty, Lula will participate in the opening ceremony and, subsequently, will participate in the in-person meeting of the Council of Champions of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.
The invitation for Lula to participate in the Forum came from the director general of FAO, Qu Dongyu, in July, when the Brazilian president was informed, by telephone, that the Brazil left the Hunger Map.
According to the director of Food Security Projects at Itamaraty, Saulo Arantes Ceolin, a bilateral meeting between Lula and Dongyu in Rome has already been agreed.
“Other bilateral meetings were also considered [durante o Fórum]but everything is still being evaluated by the president’s team”, added Ceolin this Wednesday (8), at a press conference at Itamaraty to detail Lula’s participation in the FAO event.
Alliance
Lula will also participate in Rome in the inauguration of the space where the support mechanisms of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty will operate, before returning to Brazil, on the 13th.
According to Ceolin, the results should be presented in November, during the UN World Summit on Social Development, when the Alliance will hold its first high-level meeting.
According to Itamaraty, the Alliance is about to have 200 members, including countries and organizations such as agencies, programs, university institutions and development banks – the main sources of financing for its projects and plans.
There are currently 13 requests for new members in the group. “Seven of them, from the African continent; two from Latin America and the Caribbean; three from Southeast Asia; and one from the Middle East”, informed Ceolin.
“Of these 13, at least six have their plans [de ações] being finalized by their governments, having already received support from partners for the implementation of their plans”, he added, referring to Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Palestine, Rwanda and Zambia.
Among the plans developed in these countries are some aimed at school feeding; income transfer; maternal and child nutrition; and support for family farming. “We expect that three or four countries will have their plans approved,” said Ceolin.
COP30
Also according to Ceolin, the Brazilian government hopes to approve, during COP30, in Belém, a declaration on combating hunger, combating poverty and climate action.
The document, an initiative launched by Brazil while it holds the presidency of the G20 (a group formed by the 20 largest economies on the planet), is being prepared under the coordination of the Brazilian mission in New York.
“The text is practically finalized. It will be submitted to all countries”, said Ceolin.
