MAL Minister Holds Fruitful Bilateral Talks with New FAO Subregional Coordinator
The Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, Honourable Franklyn Derek Wasi, held a productive bilateral meeting with Mr. Guangzhou Qu, the newly appointed Subregional Coordinator of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the Pacific region.
The meeting took place on Monday 26th of May at the sidelines of the 4th Pacific Week of Agriculture and Forestry currently underway in Nuku’alofa.
Minister Wasi began by congratulating Mr. Qu on his new role and expressed appreciation to his predecessor for her valuable contributions to the development of agriculture and food systems in the Solomon Islands.
During the discussion, the Minister acknowledged the strong partnership between FAO and the Solomon Islands and thanked Mr. Qu for FAO’s ongoing technical support. Current FAO-supported initiatives in the Solomon Islands include:
- Sustainable Transformation of Domestic Agrifood Systems (STODAS)
- One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) – focusing on strengthening the cassava value chain
- Hand-in-Hand Investment (HIHI) – an upcoming project to be discussed in Bangkok next month
- Agriculture Investment for Market and Nutrition (AIM-N) – a joint initiative with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
Honourable Wasi also used the opportunity to outlined other priority areas for further collaboration and support from FAO, including:
- Development of market access infrastructure
- Support for the cocoa and coconut industries
- Provision of veterinary science services and training of animal health doctors since the ministry has none at the moment
- Strengthening of agricultural extension services
- Explore support to private shipping companies to improve logistics to high-production rural areas
Minister Wasi reaffirmed the Solomon Islands Government’s commitment to working closely with FAO and advocated for the establishment of a permanent FAO country office in the Solomon Islands to enhance coordination and service delivery.
End/// with photos
MAL Press
- MAL Minister presenting a local basket containing various Solomon Islands made products, to the FAO subregional coordinator, Mr. Guangzhou Qu at the conclusion of the bilateral meeting.
- FAO Pacific subregional coordinator Mr. Guangzhou Qu, presenting a FAO bag of gifts to MAL Minister Hon. Wasi.