FAO Director-General arrives in Sri Lanka for the 37th Session of APRC

Dr. Qu Dongyu, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has landed in Sri Lanka for a significant three-day visit to partake in the 37th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC37). The event, hosted by the Sri Lankan Government, brings together Government Ministers and Heads of Delegations from 46 Member Nations in Colombo.

Upon his arrival, Dr. Qu Dongyu was warmly welcomed at the airport by Janaka Dharmakeerthi, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture in Sri Lanka, Jong-Jin Kim, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative, and Vimlendra Sharan, the FAO Representative for Sri Lanka. 

During his stay, the Director-General is slated to visit various agricultural sites and engage in a series of bilateral discussions with Sri Lankan leadership and Ministers from other Asia-Pacific countries.

The APRC37, convened by FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, serves as a pivotal international milestone in the collective effort to reform agrifood systems across the Asia-Pacific region. Running from today (19) to the 22nd in Colombo, the conference aims to outline a comprehensive pathway towards recovery from the pandemic and other intersecting crises.

President Wickremesinghe and the Director-General are expected to inaugurate the Ministerial session of the conference on Tuesday (20), where delegates from across the Asia-Pacific region will actively participate. The primary objective is to chart a course for rebuilding and transforming the region’s agrifood systems, emphasizing better production, improved nutrition, environmental sustainability, and fostering a better quality of life for all, leaving no one behind.