Italy – Visit by Chrysoula Zacharopoulou (July 24, 2023)

Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, is taking part in today’s UN Food Systems Summit in Rome. With Russia blackmailing global food security, the Minister of State will underscore France and Europe’s commitment to the most vulnerable countries, reflected by our increase in food aid, the doubling of our contribution to the World Food Program, and the establishment of dedicated initiatives such as the Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission (FARM).

The Minister of State will also take part in a high-level session devoted to school meals, where she will emphasize the positive results obtained by the School Meals Coalition co-chaired by France and Finland; she will call for stepping up our ambitions ahead of the first global meeting that will be held in Paris this October. In line with the recent Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, Ms. Zacharopoulou will reiterate the importance of financial issues at a high-level session on financing food systems, and will call for an ambitious replenishment of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

She will also meet with the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), and the Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Lastly, the Minister of State will meet with Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Edmondo Cirielli.