Figure: Dongyu, FAO DG met the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Andorra, Maria Ubach Font in July 12 2021.

12 July 2021, Rome -  FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Andorra, Maria Ubach Font, had a meeting today to exchange views on areas of ongoing and future cooperation between FAO and Andorra.

The Director-General thanked Minister Ubach Font for being a longstanding and active member of the UN Mountain Partnership. The Minister underscored the special attention that Andorra gives to supporting this partnership.

As a mountainous country, Andorra supported the creation of the Mountain Partnership in 2002 and has worked closely with the Secretariat to promote the mountain agenda at the international level, including through high-level events.

The Minister noted that Andorra is a small country surrounded by mountains and thanked the Director-General for the partnership, and the joint work to protect landscapes and mountains.

The Minister underlined the importance of multilateralism, especially for a small country like Andorra.

The Director-General stated that Andorra has a lot to share with other small land-locked mountainous countries, and mentioned the Hand-in-Hand Initiative as a good opportunity to share their knowledge and experience with recipient countries, for example through training courses on renewable energy and sustainable eco-tourism.

The Director-General mentioned the Memorandums of Understanding the Organization has signed with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

He further mentioned the experiences that Andorra could share with recipient countries on agroforestry and eco-tourism. The country has a highly developed small-scale businesses sector. In this respect, the Director-General also noted the 1000 Digital Villages Initiative of FAO as a good opportunity for Andorra to be part of, to promote their typical local products online and help transform agri-food systems.

The pair further discussed the collaboration on Food Loss and Waste, as well as climate change, and the joint work on integrating economic, social and environmental issues.

In that respect, the Minister underlined the importance of working together with FAO on Sustainable Development Goal 13 on climate action, and in preparing for COP26 in Glasgow, where Andorra will organise a side event on tourism and mountains. 

The Director-General expressed his appreciation for Andorra’s strong commitment to FAO and its longstanding contributions to the Organization. The Minister welcomed the Director-General to visit Andorra, to see their work on climate change mitigation and landscape preservation.

See http://www.fao.org/director-general/news/news-article/en/c/1415731/