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UN PhotoFAO / EUROPE CENTRAL ASIA CONFERENCE
STORY: FAO / EUROPE REGIONAL CONFERENCE
TRT: 02:42
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT FAO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 11-12 MAY 2026, DUSHANBE, TAJIKISTAN
1. Wide shot, delegates arriving at FAO Regional Conference for Europe (ERC35)
2. Top shot, FAO Regional Conference for Europe (ERC35) sign
3. Med shot, delegates at FAO Regional Conference for Europe (ERC35) clapping
4. Wide shot, from left to right Viorel Gutu, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia, Kokhir Rasulzoda, Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan, QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General, Mina Rizk, Independent Chairperson of FAO Council
5. Med shot, FAO Director-General approaching the speakers’ podium
6. SOUNDBITE (English) QU Dongyu, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
“The challenges we face, the climate crisis, economic pressures, and supply chain disruptions, among others, do not respect borders. Our agrifood systems are interconnected, and so must be our solutions.”
7. Med shot, FAO Director-General speaking
8. Close up, delegates listening
9. SOUNDBITE (English) QU Dongyu, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
“Peace and stability are prerequisites for food security and the right to food is a basic human right. We must work together to mitigate the impacts of conflict on vulnerable populations and ensure food, fertilizer and seeds reach those who need them most. FAO stands ready to support inclusive responses that keep markets functioning and protect the most exposed.”
10. Wide shot, delegates listening
11. Med shot, FAO Director-General speaking
12. Close up, delegates listening displayed in a camera monitor
13. SOUNDBITE (English) QU Dongyu, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
“Since 2015, development finance flows to agrifood systems in Europe and Central Asia have amounted to about USD 21.4 billon, yet they remain far below what is required. At the same time, domestic public spending on agriculture in many countries is less than half of the agriculture contribution to the GDP, and bank credit to agriculture remains well below parity. We must unlock blended finance and leverage private capital, and ensure that financing reaches smallholder and family farmers, pastoralists, fishers, women farmers, and youth.”
14. Various shots, GENERATION YSInvest immersive Exhibition
15. Various shots, QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General attending the opening of the GENERATION YSInvest immersive Exhibition
“Peace and stability are prerequisites for food security,” QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), told ministers from across Europe and Central Asia gathered in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, meeting amidst growing climate, economic and geopolitical pressures.
The 35th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe (ERC35) is being held in Tajikistan's capital from 11-15 May 2026 under the overarching theme “Uniting for Sustainability: Integrating climate action, biodiversity conservation and land restoration for sustainable agrifood systems in Europe and Central Asia.”
Held every two years, the ERC is FAO's highest governing body for the Europe and Central Asia region, offering countries and related partners the opportunity to discuss the most pressing issues in food and agriculture and to define FAO’s priority areas of work for the following biennium.
The regional ministerial conference is taking place at a time when countries across Europe and Central Asia are simultaneously facing climate shocks, market volatility, and geopolitical disruptions, alongside biodiversity loss, water stress, and rising pressure on household food affordability.
Although global food commodity markets have partially stabilized following major price spikes in 2022 due to the war in Ukraine, many countries across Europe and Central Asia continue to face elevated food prices and high agricultural input costs, not least due to the current conflict in the Middle East.
Qu highlighted that the recently held 180th Special Session of the FAO Council had reaffirmed that "Peace and stability are pre-requisites for food security and the right to food is a basic human right" and emphasized the critical need to "work together to mitigate the impacts of conflict on vulnerable populations and ensure food, fertilizer and seeds reach those who need them most."
SOUNDBITE (English) QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General: “Peace and stability are prerequisites for food security and the right to food is a basic human right. We must work together to mitigate the impacts of conflict on vulnerable populations and ensure food, fertilizer and seeds reach those who need them most. FAO stands ready to support inclusive responses that keep markets functioning and protect the most exposed.”
In his address to the regional ministerial conference, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu reminded delegates that the challenges faced by the region, among them the climate crisis, economic pressures, and supply chain disruptions, do not respect borders and therefore demand collective action and solutions.
SOUNDBITE (English) QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General: “The challenges we face, the climate crisis, economic pressures, and supply chain disruptions, among others, do not respect borders. Our agrifood systems are interconnected, and so must be our solutions.”
He called for discussions to focus on two urgent priorities: strengthening the resilience of agrifood systems across the region; and securing adequate financing to make that resilience possible.
From an environmental perspective, Europe and Central Asia is projected to continue warming at roughly twice the global average, intensifying droughts, floods, wildfires, and agricultural stress.
Recent extreme weather events across the region serve as a stark reminder that business as usual is no longer an option, Qu said. More than 90 million hectares of land in Europe and Central Asia are estimated to be degraded, underscoring the urgency of decisive action.
The Director-General noted that FAO has a clear roadmap in the form of its Strategic Framework 2022–31, anchored in the Four Betters: Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment, and a Better Life - leaving no one behind.
Since 2015, development finance flows to agrifood systems in Europe and Central Asia have amounted to about $ 21.4 billon. "Yet they remain far below what is required," Qu said.
At a time of constrained public budgets and limited private capital flows, especially to small and medium-sized enterprises, we need to work with governments, development banks, international financial institutions, and private sector partners, the Director-General said.
SOUNDBITE (English) QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General: “Since 2015, development finance flows to agrifood systems in Europe and Central Asia have amounted to about USD 21.4 billon, yet they remain far below what is required. At the same time, domestic public spending on agriculture in many countries is less than half of the agriculture contribution to the GDP, and bank credit to agriculture remains well below parity. We must unlock blended finance and leverage private capital, and ensure that financing reaches smallholder and family farmers, pastoralists, fishers, women farmers, and youth.”
The conference in Dushanbe also includes a number of FAO and Members-organized side events, starting with GENERATION YSInvest, an event on youth, science and innovation, and investment. The event aimed to demonstrate how inclusive participation, evidence-based solutions and high-level investment dialogue can jointly accelerate agrifood systems transformation.
Running in parallel to the GENERATION YSInvest event an immersive Exhibition is combining visual storytelling, interactive installations, and participatory spaces in a living platform for dialogue and exchange.
By connecting women, youth, farmers, innovators, policymakers and investors and showcasing innovative national and international approaches, the exhibition aims to strengthen pathways from ideas to implementation and from innovation to scalable, investment-ready solutions, integrating traditional knowledge with scientific and technological innovation.
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