Bilateral meeting with H.E. Hiroyoshi Sasagawa, State Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan
©FAO/Alessandra Benedetti
Rome - On the margins of the 44th Session of the FAO Conference, the FAO Director-General met with H.E. Hiroyoshi Sasagawa, State Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan.
State Minister Sasagawa conveyed appreciation for the Director-General’s leadership and referred to the growing global impact of climate change, citing recent floods and droughts in China, as well as rising food prices in Japan. He emphasized that climate change is a critical global issue, closely tied to FAO’s mandate.
The State Minister underscored the importance of the fisheries sector for Japan and conveyed the government’s interest in strengthening collaboration with FAO in this domain. He further provided an overview of Japan’s important agriculture sector, noting in particular the high quality of its food products, including palm oil.
The Director-General welcomed Japan’s continued engagement with FAO and emphasized the value of project-based cooperation. In this regard, the Director-General encouraged Japan to expand its use of FAO’s global platforms, including its decentralized office network, to support development efforts in less-advanced countries. He stressed that such collaboration should focus on delivering tangible, scalable benefits to those most in need.
The Director-General also introduced a forthcoming initiative under the One Health approach aimed at strengthening animal health systems to better prevent, prepare for, and respond to future pandemics caused by transboundary animal diseases. He noted that the mechanism is planned for launch by the end of the year and will be particularly relevant to countries like Japan, among others, and invited Japan to consider supporting the initiative through seed funding and policy engagement.
State Minister Sasagawa acknowledged the potential of the proposed mechanism, and reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to further strengthening collaboration with FAO on this and other key areas of work.