18/09/2023

New York - Director-General QU Dongyu met today with H.E. Melis Turgunbaev, Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The Minister thanked the Director-General for FAO's support to the Kyrgyz Republic and summarized various technical areas of the Organization's work in the country. In his remarks he also touched upon the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program, funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and COP 28 later this year.

The Director-General welcomed the Minister and informed that he had recently attended the International Conference on Food Security held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from 7-8 September, where he had the opportunity to meet various ministers and other stakeholders from Central Asia (including the Minister for Agriculture of the Kyrgyz Republic) and beyond. The Director-General informed of discussions held with Uzbekistan on the possibility of convening an international development forum for Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) in the near future.

The Director-General also extended his salutations to the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, whom he met last year in New York during the 77^th session of UNGA. He also commended the active role that the Kyrgyz Republic plays within the Mountain Partnership, and noted that there is potential for aquaculture development in Kyrgyzstan despite being an LLDC.