PM off to Italy for food summit

 Kathmandu, July 23: 

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda left for Italy on Saturday evening to participate in the United Nations Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+2) which is slated for 24 to 26 July in Rome.

The programme will be hosted by Italy, in collaboration with the Rome-based UN Agencies (FAO, IFAD, WFP), the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub and the wider UN system.

He is accompanied by his daughter Ganga Dahal, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development, Dr. Beduram Bhusal, Member of National Planning Commission Dr. Jay Kant Raut, and other senior members of the government. 

The Prime Minister is scheduled to address the official opening session of UNFSS+2 on Monday, July 24, in capacity of the Chair of LDC Group, including the Plenary Sessions on the agenda of School Meals on the same day and Food System Transformation in Practice on July 25. Nepal is the current chair of the LDC Group, the Global Coordination Bureau of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). 

Likewise, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), on the sidelines of the event, Prime Minister Prachanda will hold bilateral meetings with high level dignitaries of the UN system, including the Director General of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), and the President of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), among others.

The Prime Minister will also interact with the Nepali community in Italy over a programme being organised by the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) there. 

He is also scheduled to meet the prime minister and leaders while in Rome. He will return to Nepal on July 28. 

According to the organisers, the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment will build on the momentum of the 2021 Food Systems Summit and will 

create a conducive space for countries to review progress on the commitments to action and identify successes, enduring bottlenecks and priorities in order to close the implementation gap by effectively and efficiently utilising the Means of Implementation for food systems transformation. 

It will also be an opportunity to further socialise the powerful role of sustainable, equitable, healthy and resilient food systems as critical SDG accelerators and advocate for urgent action at scale, building on the latest evidence that sustainable food systems contribute to better and more sustainable outcomes for people, planet and prosperity leaving no one behind.

The organisers said in a statement that the high-level meeting will serve as the first global follow-up to the 2021 Food Systems Summit, where more than 50,000 people, including 77 Heads of State and Government, from 193 countries, committed to accelerate and deepen the transformative power of food systems, for the full realization of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Italy hosted the Pre-Food Systems Summit in Rome in July 2021, an inclusive substantial preparatory event that gathered leaders and numerous stakeholders. The three-day meeting will further highlight the central role of food systems transformations in overall SDG advancement ahead of the Sustainable Development Goals Summit in September 2023. 

It will also be a conducive space for countries to share stories of success and early signs of transformation and maintain the momentum for bold acceleration and bold action to further the resilience of food systems.

Meanwhile, DPM and Minister for Defence, Purna Bahadur Khadka is assigned with the responsibility for the duties of the Prime Minister during the absence of PM Prachanda.

President Ramchandra Paudel has assigned the duties to DPM Khadka at the recommendation of PM Prachanda, the Office of the President said in a statement on Saturday. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 23 July 2023.