Good afternoon, distinguished participants
I am CHUNG Hwang Keun, the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
I am really grateful to all participants in ‘2022 Global ODA Forum’.
My sincere gratitude also goes to BAN Ki Moon, the President & Chair of GGGI for delivering congratulatory remarks and the keynote speakers such as Ramiro Lopes da Silva, the Deputy Executive Director of WFP, Alvaro Lario, the President of IFAD, Achim Steiner, the Administrator of UNDP, and Qu Dongyu, the Director General of FAO.
In the wake of the global supply chain crisis triggered by Russo-Ukrainian War and various global issues such as climate change and the pandemic, the global food crisis is getting worse this year. The international cooperation is required more than ever.
The improvement of food security and a resilient and sustainable agri-food system, which are being emphasized by international conferences such as the G20 and OECD Meeting of Agriculture Ministers, are more important than ever.
In particular, at the UN Food System Summit held in September of last year, UN member states and international organizations participated and built a consensus to transform food system to contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and various initiatives requiring international cooperation were presented.
I hope this forum will serve as an opportunity to mutually check and share information on how various agricultural cooperative missions presented by the international community are identified and promoted such as zero hunger, school meals, and sustainable productivity growth.
Against this background, this ODA forum will be the venue to deal with four topics: conflict, climate change, carbon neutrality, and infectious diseases under the theme of “Developing International Development Cooperation Measures for Food and Nutrition Security in a Changing Environment”.
I hope that Korea and the international community will cooperate to actively discover and discuss cooperative measures to improve the food and nutrition problems that are in crisis.
We will do our best to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, including the sustainable agri-food system, and cooperate with the members of the international community, including today’s participants.
Thank you.
Chung Hwang-keun
Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
Republic of Korea