Bilateral meeting with H.E. T.H. Siosiua Moala Halavatau, Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forests of Tonga

Rome - During the 44th Session of the FAO Ministerial Conference, the FAO Director-General met with H.E. T.H. Siosiua Moala Halavatau, Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forests of Tonga. The Director-General welcomed the Minister and his delegation, expressing his keen interest in Tonga’s economic and agricultural development.

The Minister thanked the Director-General for the warm reception and appreciated FAO’s support, especially in the aftermath of the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai undersea volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami. He highlighted FAO’s timely assistance through emergency projects and CERF funding, which provided affected households with seeds, tools, poultry, animal feed, and helped clean volcanic ash from farmland, rehabilitate fishing boats and gear.

The Minister also noted FAO’s support for mid- and long-term recovery, including planning adaptive agriculture recovery measures, strengthening disaster risk reduction capacities, restoring marine ecosystems and fisheries, and enhancing food security systems, efforts which had benefitted over 3,000 households.

Looking ahead, the Minister expressed Tonga’s readiness to deepen its engagement with FAO and the international community, particularly through regional cooperation among Pacific Island countries. He highlighted Tonga’s strong interest in advancing collaboration in key areas of agriculture and food security, and welcomed FAO’s continued support.

The Director-General expressed his satisfaction with the progress of Tonga and other Pacific Island countries, and encouraged Tonga to make full use of FAO’s platforms and mechanisms to advance its development priorities.