Food security and the agenda for the G7 in 2017
From Expo Milan 2015 and World Food Day 2016 to next year’s G7.
Food and nutrition security, sustainable agriculture, the fight against hunger and malnutrition are not only top items of the G7 agenda, but also key priorities of Italy’s foreign policy — they were the focus of the 2015 Expo in Milan, titled Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life! — and they’re part of two recent agreements signed with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
Last October, in his address to the celebrations of FAO’s World Food Day, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi stressed the key role of the G7 — and the presidency of Italy in 2017 — to address food security, poverty, climate change, and all related issues.
Italy believes that the fight against hunger and poverty, food security, and a better quality of life are political priorities for us all.
Renzi highlighted three moments next year that are going to be key in the debate around food security: (1) the 60th anniversary of the treaty of Rome and the European Union; (2) the Italian seat in the UN Security Council; and (3) the Italian presidency of the G7.
In November, Italy signed two agreements with FAO, headquartered in Rome. The first, between FAO and the University of Rome La Sapienza, strengthens the cooperation in the area of scientific research, statistics and data, as well as innovative research and training.
The second agreement, between FAO and the 3 main networks of Italian non-governmental organizations — Associazione delle Organizzazioni Italiane di cooperazione e solidarietà internazionale (AOI), Coordinamento Italiano Network Internazionali (CINI) e Link 2007 — strengthens the relations in the area of rural development, as part of the framework of the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development and for achieving Zero Hunger. The agreement facilitates new opportunities and collaborations for resilience, food security, and peace.
For more on Taormina and our dispatches about the Italian presidency of the G7 in 2017, follow our G7inUS publication here on Medium and Medium Italiano, or follow us on Twitter. For the official channel of the G7 presidency in 2017, follow @G7Italy2017 on Twitter and use hashtag #G7Italy2017.
