The President of the 76th Session of the General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, delivered remarks at the Official Opening of the United Nations Food Systems Summit held under the auspice of the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
In his statement, the President noted ¡°we have enough food to feed the planet, yet we are either deliberately or unknowingly being wasteful and unsustainable¡± ¨C an assertion he also made at the General Debate of the seventy-sixth session of the General Assembly. He noted that it is vital that we reshape our approach to food and called for preserving the astonishing genetic diversity of seeds for food security purposes. The President urged the international community to invest in innovations within the food supply chain? to help conserve natural resources, protect ecosystems, and facilitate global efforts to inaugurate blue economies.? He also reminded people to be ever mindful of the damage and tragedy of wasted food.
The President also stressed the? need to approach the food issue in the spirit of multilateralism and underscored that? the upcoming summits on the ocean, climate, biodiversity, and desertification, is an opportune moment to harmonize relationship with nature, including our food systems.?
The President urged to protect and empower the most vulnerable, including LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS with their agriculture sectors facing diverse and complex challenges. He noted that farmers, especially women, are disadvantaged on many fronts. He called on the international community to give vulnerable countries the financial and resource space to recover sustainably.
In conclusion, the President expressed his full support for the Secretary General¡¯s Statement of Action and pledged throughout his Presidency of Hope, and he will build on the momentum of this Summit and leverage the political and moral power of the General Assembly to accelerate the implementation of the outcomes.
23 September 2021
