DIRECTOR-GENERAL’S ACTIVITIES IN JANUARY 2008

Ouagadougou, , 9 to 12 January 2008:

The Director-General arrived in Ouagadougou on 9 January 2008 at 15:55 hours. He had bilateral meeting with high-level officials of Burkina Faso, including His Excellency Blaise Compaoré, President of Burkina Faso and President of the Council of Ministers; His Excellency Tertius Zongo, Prime Minister and Head of the Government of Burkina Faso; Her Excellency Minata Samate, Minister delegated to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation in charge of Regional Cooperation; and with His Excellency Salif Diallo, Minister of State, Minister for Agriculture, Water and Fishing Resources.

On 10 January 2008, the Director-General participated in an interministerial meeting which was chaired by His Excellency Salif Diallo, Minister of State, Minister for Agriculture, Water and Fishing Resources, and included the participation of eleven Ministers and Delegated Ministers and their assistants.

He also made a courtesy visit to His Excellency Soumaïla Cissé, President of the Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).

Discussions touched on issues related to the National Programme for Food Security (NPFS) and a possible visit of His Excellency Salif Diallo to FAO headquarters to attend a meeting with representatives of the funding partners prior to the holding of a round table.

The Director-General noted, in particular, the multisectoral nature of food security which would require the participation of the ministerial departments involved in solving the challenges to agricultural development and food security. He reaffirmed FAO’s willingness to assist the Government in finalizing the NPFS document, mobilizing donors and organizing a round table for donors. However, he urged the Government to confirm its commitment by starting with national resources. He also expressed his appreciation to the Government for having already allocated 11.35 percent of the national budget to the agricultural sector. The Government requested that attention be given to the agricultural information system and to rehabilitating works.

The Director-General noted soaring cereal prices on the world market and informed the authorities about the launching of a US$ 17 million programme to assist member countries to acquire seeds and grain for the next agricultural season.

Finally, he confirmed that Burkina Faso is one of the 13 countries which FAO has included within its framework of cooperation with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

During his visit, the Director-General made two field trips to agricultural production sites in Bissigha (in Latodin, Passoré Province) in the Northern Region and to Boussouma (in Koubri, Kadiogo Province du Kadiogo) in the Southern Region.

At the end of his trip, the Director-General gave a press conference attended by national and international media. The press conference focused on food security in Burkina Faso and soaring cereal prices on the world market.

The Director-General left Ouagadougou on 12 January 2008 at 23:40 hours.

Rome, Italy, 14-16 January 2008:

The Director-General attended the 25 Year Award Ceremony followed by the usual reception.

He participated in the following internal meetings with Assistant Directors-General and Directors:

• Senior Management Meeting; • Programme and Policy Advisory Board Meeting; • Follow-up to the press conference on food crisis, 17 December 2007.

He had bilateral meetings with:

• Ambassadors/Permanent Representatives from France and Cameroon; • Ms Josette Sheeran, Executive Director, World Food Programme; • Mr Ndiogoou Fall, President of the Executive Committee of “Réseau des organisations paysannes et de producteurs agricoles de l’Afrique de l’Ouest”/Network of Farmers and Peasant Organisations in West Africa (ROPPA); • Mr Khawaja, former Chairman of the Finance Committee; • Mr Yasser Sorour, Chairperson of the Finance Committee ; • Mr F. Benedek, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of and Chairman of the Hungarian National FAO Committee; • Professor R. Reddy of Carnegie Mellon University.

His Excellency Aly Ould Haiba of Mauritania presented his credentials as new Permanent Representative to FAO.

On 16 January, the Director-General attended the all-day Seminar with Permanent Representatives of FAO Members on Knowledge Exchange and Capacity Building.

He was also invited by the producers of the Al-Jazeera TV programme “No Frontiers” to participate in a live discussion on safeguarding food security in the face of rising commodity prices, climate change, biofuels and more general topics on long-term food and agricultural problems.

Davos, Switzerland, 23 to 26 January 2008:

The Director-General arrived in Zurich on 23 January 2008 at 11:25 hours to continue his travel to Davos to attend the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum.

On 24 January, he participated in a working breakfast on “Managing our future water needs: a call to action on water for health, industry, agriculture and the environment” and in the session entitled “The straggler of the global economy”.

He then met Mr Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., Chairman of Swiss Re America Holding Corp, to sign a Partnership Agreement to develop and implement financial risk management and risk transfer instruments with the aim of reducing the vulnerability of the rural population in FAO’s member countries.

In the evening, he was invited by Mr Neville Isdell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Coca Cola Company and Mrs Isdell to a reception in celebration of the partnerships that are helping to build sustainable communities.

On 25 January, the Director-General was invited to a private breakfast discussion hosted by Nestlé to discuss “The role of women in the business environment of the 21 st century”. He then participated in a press conference devoted to the Millennium Development Goals. In the afternoon, he attended a private session on “Sustainable biofuels – need for cross-industry action?” and participated in the High-Level Plenary Session with the Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. In the evening, he concluded with an interactive session over dinner on “Are we being bio-foolish?”

On 26 January, he concluded his stay in Davos by participating in a working session entitled “Business as a partner and driver of sustainable food production”.

The Director-General used the opportunity to widely interact with the international media. He was also interviewed by Mr Jonathan Lynn, Reuters correspondent, 1 and before leaving Switzerland, by Ms Charlotte Jacquemart, Economic Editor of the Sunday edition of “Neue Zürcher Zeitung”.2

The Director-General left Zurich on 26 January 2008 at 17:30 hours.

Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, 28 January to 4 February 2008:

The Director-General arrived in Addis Ababa on 28 January 2008 at 08:50 hours to participate in the 12th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council and the 10th Ordinary Session of the African Union Conference and to officially inaugurate the Subregional Office of Eastern Africa. Upon his arrival and departure, the Director-General gave a press conference to the Ethiopian media at the airport.

On the occasion of the African Union Conference, the Director-General had the opportunity to interact with several Heads of State and Government from Africa and other dignitaries participating in the event. He had audiences with the Presidents of Madagascar and Zambia. He had bilateral meetings with His Excellency Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia; His Excellency Ato Addisu Legesse, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development; His Excellency Seyoum Mesfin, Foreign Minister of Ethiopia and His Excellency Abera Deresa, State Minister of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Overall discussions focused on Ethiopia's speedy and successful economic growth, which is based on agricultural development and was suggested as an exemplary model for other countries. The Government also showed interest in biofuel production based on jetropha plantations.

1 http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKL2332281420080124?sp=true 2 http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/wirtschaft/aktuell/die_situation_ist_sehr_bedrohlich_1.668629.html Discussions then touched on the plan to showcase Ethiopia's experience in the agriculture sector to other countries on the annual World Food Day.

On 29 January 2008, the Director-General inaugurated the Subregional Office for Eastern Africa together with His Excellency Addissu Legesse, Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia. This was followed by a press conference.

On 1 February 2008, World Bank President Robert Zoellick hosted a working breakfast devoted to “Roundtable on Agriculture and Food Prices”. The Director-General was invited to participate in this event, which was also attended by the Presidents of Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique and as well as heads of the African Development Bank (ADB), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the acting Chief Executive of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.

In the afternoon of 1 February 2008, the Director-General met His Excellency Marc Ravalomanana, President of Madagascar, to discuss the current world food security situation with particular reference to China and India, as well as the Government’s vision for agriculture development.

On 2 February 2008, the Director-General met with His Excellency Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, President of Zambia. The President expressed concern over the effects of recent floods that have affected Southern Africa. The Director-General assured the President of FAOs commitment to assist the Government in securing inputs to help farmers who are victims of the floods and informed about the Organization’s immediate action and participation in the International Appeal.

The Director-General also held meetings with His Excellency Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; His Excellency Donald Kaberuka, President of the ADB; His Excellency Kandeh Yumkella, Director-General of UNIDO and Dr Babagana Ahmadu, Director for Rural Economy & Agriculture of the African Union.

During his visit, the Director-General interacted on numerous occasions with the local and international media. He was interviewed by the media after his arrival at, and before his departure from, Addis Ababa Airport. He was interviewed by the Ethiopian Television. He had a telephone interview with Voice of America, Washington DC and with Focus Magazine.

The Director-General left Addis Ababa on 3 February 2008 at 10:30 hours.