
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi receives Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Qu Dongyu, in Cairo, 3 March 2024. Photo: Egyptian Presidency
During a meeting with Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo on Sunday, Dongyu further described Egypt's role in Gaza as demonstrating the highest levels of responsibility and selflessness.
The meeting touched on the catastrophic humanitarian conditions and widespread starvation in the Gaza Strip.
El-Sisi reviewed Cairo's extensive efforts to deliver the needed humanitarian aid by land and air to the people of Gaza.
According to the Presidential Spokesman, Ahmed Fahmy, the head of the FAO offered an overview of his organization's efforts in this regard, affirming its commitment to providing all forms of support to Egypt's efforts to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid and relief to the people of Gaza.
The meeting, attended by Egypt's Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, El-Sayed El-Quseir, also tackled the global food crisis and the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis on Egypt as one of the world’s largest importers of grains.
In this regard, El-Sisi stressed that Egypt seeks to radically overcome this challenge by achieving significant growth in agricultural land and adopting vertical farming methods to improve productivity.
The Egyptian president also highlighted the mega agricultural projects currently being implemented by the state, noting that these projects have already yielded hundreds of thousands of new feddans.
For his part, the head of the FAO said they closely observe the Egyptian experience in agricultural development.
He also underscored strengthening the ongoing cooperation between Egypt and the FAO to support Egypt in improving food security for the Egyptian people.
Furthermore, Dongyu said he has regard for the urban, agricultural, and industrial development he witnessed during his visit to Egypt.
During the meeting, both sides also confirmed appreciation for the longstanding partnership between Egypt and FAO, reflected in the multiple development projects in agriculture and food and in signing the new Country Agreement between the two sides for 2024-2027.
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