President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General and Hon. Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries inaugurated the 37th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific today with Government Ministers and Heads of Delegations from as many as 46 Member Nations.

Hon. Ali Sabry, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Douglas Devananda, Minister of Fisheries, Hon. Nimal Siripala de Silva, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation, Hon. Lohan Ratwatte, State Minister of Plantation Industries and Mahaweli Development, Hon. D. B. Herath, State Minister of Livestock Development, Hon. Mohan Priyadarshana De Silva, State Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Kader Masthan, State Ministry of Rural Economy were also present at the inauguration ceremony.

The #APRC37, convened by FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and hosted by the Government of Sri Lanka, marks a major international, multilateral milestone in an effort to reform agrifood systems across the Asia-Pacific region. The Conference runs from 19 – 22 February in Colombo.

The objective of the conference is to outline a pathway toward a full recovery from the pandemic and other converging crises, and reinforce ways to rebuild and transform the region’s agrifood systems, delivered through better production, better nutrition, a better environment and leading to a better life for all – leaving no one behind.