Bangladesh elected FAO council member

Bangladesh has been elected member of FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) council from the Asia region for the term 2022-2024, reports UNB.

The result came from the 42nd session of the UN agency participated by 183 member states, said the foreign affairs ministry on Friday.

This comes at a time when Bangladesh is going to host the 36th Asia and the Pacific FAO Regional Conference (APRC) from 8 to 11 March, 2022 in Dhaka which is expected to be attended by ministerial-level delegates from 46 member countries of the region.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has agreed to inaugurate the conference to be hosted by Bangladesh for the first time.

Bangladesh, with other council members, will now lead the organisation at both policy and executive levels in deciding and advising on matters pertaining to the implementation of programmes and budget execution, monitoring of activities under the new results-based framework, monitoring of implementation of governance decisions and oversight of the administration of the organisation for three years.

The Bangladesh embassy in Rome actively worked to obtain support in favour of Bangladesh.

The ongoing 42nd session of the FAO conference, held on a virtual platform from the headquarters of FAO in Rome, is being attended by an eight-member Bangladesh delegation led by agricultural minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, which also includes ministry’s senior secretary Md Mesbahul Islam and Bangladesh ambassador and permanent representative to FAO Md Shameem Ahsan.

FAO is the specialised agency of the UN that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.