Visit of Commissioner Nielson to Rome

Summary: February 11, 2002: European Community Press Release issued at the United Nations in Rome

Commissioner NIELSON paid a working visit on 11 February to the three UN agencies in Rome: the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP). The visit involved a very full day's programme of events and meetings with UN bodies and senior officials in order:

To highlight the strong commitment of the EC on the implementation of poverty reduction strategies with particular focus on food security and sustainable rural development;
To inform IFAD, FAO and WFP on the efforts that the Commission is deploying to review and to invigorate the European Commission's relations and collaboration with the UN system as a whole;
To address specific issues of mutual interest to the Commission and the Rome-based UN institutions and to enhance the current dialogue and practical collaboration between them.

Mr NIELSON's first meeting was with Mr Lennart BÅGE, President of IFAD. The discussion underlined the importance the Commission attaches to this organization and to enhance EC/IFAD collaboration in the field of Rural Development. Mr NIELSON then attended a working lunch at the invitation of Mr Jacques DIOUF, Director General of the FAO. The lunch provided an opportunity for an extended informal exchange between the FAO and Commission and a wide range of issues were reviewed linked, inter alia, with the preparation of the FAO World Food Summit: five years later. In the afternoon, in addition to meeting Mrs Catherine BERTINI, Executive Director of the WFP, Mr Nielson became the first Commissioner to address a Session of the World Food Programme Executive Board in Rome. He took this opportunity to pay tribute to Mrs BERTINI, who is finishing her mandate at WFP and thanked her for the good collaboration over the years. In the margins of this visit, Mr NIELSON had a very positive and friendly meeting with Mr Andrew NATSIOS, USAID Administrator and met with the EU Ambassadors to the UN Agencies in Rome.

Ref: EC02-017EN
EU source: European Commission
UN forum: Other
Date: 11/2/2002

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