Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Prof. Dr. Vahit Kirişci attended the plenary session. titled "Acting Together for Global Food Security: Lessons Learned from Recent Crises", on the first day of the Economic Development and Cooperation Organization (OECD) Meeting of Agriculture Ministers, which was held in Paris, the capital of France, and attended by the agriculture ministers of more than 45 countries.
In his speech here, Minister Kirişci pointed out that hunger affected hundreds of millions of people in the world in 2021, and noted that it is estimated approximately 670 million people will still be undernourished in 2030. Kirişci added that Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and the war in Ukraine worsened the situation, increasing the pressure on global food insecurity.
Mentioning about Türkiye's efforts to resolve the problem of Black Sea Grain Initiative under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Kirişci said, "This initiative has enabled the resumption of exports of grain and other foodstuffs from Ukraine to the rest of the world through a safe humanitarian sea corridor since July 22, 2022, and will continue as agreed before."
Kirişci also attended sessions on "Increase of sustainable productivity for food safety and nutrition" and "Global opportunities for inclusive agriculture" and gave information about Türkiye's experiences and practices.
Kirişci met with his counterparts from Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand, Spain and Austria, as well as representatives of the European Union (EU) in Paris.
Minister Kirişci discussed the issues of cooperation in the field of agriculture during his meeting with Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Mr. Luis Planas. Kirişci stated that they will bring the agricultural trade to a better point by mutually promoting the potential export products of Türkiye and Spain.
Kirişci evaluated the bilateral cooperation opportunities in his meeting with Mr. Norbert Totschnig, Austrian Federal Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management.
