Yuri Sterk meets with FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva
02 February 2018 News
Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Sterk met on Monday with José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as part of his working visit to Rome, where Deputy Minister Sterk took part in an international conference on the calendar of the Italian Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
The Bulgarian diplomat briefed the FAO chief on the priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, and familiarized him in more detail with this country’s priorities in agriculture. The two discussed the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy and the cooperation between the EU and FAO. ‘Sustainability is a top priority for the European Union in the development of agriculture, forestry, fisheries and the rural areas,’ noted Yuri Sterk, adding that coordination and continuity within the framework of the Estonia-Bulgaria-Austria Trio – as well as the forthcoming Bulgarian chairmanship of four sessions of the EU-FAO Coordination Working Party in Brussels, are an important element of cooperation in pursuit of that goal.
José Graziano da Silva pointed out that the European perspective and connectivity of the Western Balkans is a major priority on the agenda of the Bulgarian Presidency. He noted that a regional approach is necessary to resolve the problems in those countries related to the cross-border spread of animal diseases, and that working on this priority will enable the parties to achieve better results in dealing with that challenge.
The Deputy Foreign Minister and the FAO Director-General discussed matters of the cooperation between Bulgaria and FAO. They also considered the opportunities for the future implementation of the BlackSea4Fishproject, which is part of the Mid-Term Strategy (2017-2020) towards the sustainability of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries.