Eurasian countries step up preparations for UN Food Systems Summit

As part of preparations for the landmark UN Food Systems Summit in New York this September, a virtual independent dialogue saw today eight countries come together to discuss how they will transform national food systems and drive progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

The event was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in collaboration with the Moscow State University of Food Production, and the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly.

During the dialogue, seven SCO member states – China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan – presented the current state of their food systems, elaborated on current challenges and possible solutions, outlined areas of development potential, and shared good practices in ensuring food security. They discussed the outcomes of national dialogues, and addressed several of the action tracks of the upcoming Summit, such as access to food, sustainable consumption, nature-positive production, equitable livelihoods, and resilience.

“Discovering similarities in their challenges and future prospects also encourages countries to partner for the sustainable transformation of food systems, and to explore possibilities of cooperation for strengthening trade, domestic food supply, technical support for sustainable food systems, and other areas,” said Vladimir Rakhmanin, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia.

“Discussions related to sustainable food systems are very timely for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states,” said Muratbek Azymbakiyev, SCO Deputy Secretary General. “It is one of the priority areas of the SCO Secretariat and FAO Joint Action Plan for the period 2020–2023, implemented under the Memorandum of Understanding between the SCO Secretariat and FAO, signed in 2019.”

Serving as an official feedback mechanism, the UN Food Systems Summit independent dialogues are locally driven events that aim to channel regional realities into the Summit process. These offer opportunities to engage directly in proposing pathways towards sustainable food systems, exploring new ways of working together, and encouraging collaborative action.

9 August 2021, Moscow, Russian Federation