FAO: Leyla Aliyeva can successfully assist the organization
By Nigar Orujova
The appointment of Heydar Aliyev Foundation Vice President Leyla Aliyeva as Goodwill Ambassador of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization is another important step in the FAO-Azerbaijan partnership.
This statement was made by Nadine Valat, team leader for resource mobilization and donor liaison to the FAO.
Aliyeva was awarded the title of Goodwill Ambassador by the FAO for her role in the fight against hunger, and for her goals and achievements in food security, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, as well as the creation of healthy food systems, this May.
The Goodwill Ambassador visited the FAO headquarters in Rome to meet FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva on September 2.
“Azerbaijan became a member of FAO in 1995 and since then a strong partnership grew,” said Valat. “In 1999, FAO implemented its first project, funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, to provide emergency assistance to Azerbaijan's internally displaced people. Several other projects to improve food security and support internally displaced people were implemented during the last 20 years.”
Valat went on to add that these range from avian influenza control and eradication programs, to support for the development of aquaculture, the disposal of obsolete pesticides, apiculture development, conservation agriculture, and support for rural women.
More recently, Azerbaijan, with its flourishing economy, has taken concrete steps to change its status from being a recipient of international assistance to a donor country, she added.
“The country has expressly declared its intention to become a resource partner for projects, initially in Azerbaijan with the option to support, and in the future, other countries in the region or beyond,” Nadine Valat said.
The team leader further said FAO highly values new partners such as emerging economies and middle-income countries that could be key players in the international development scene and contribute to FAO efforts to diversify its resource partnership base.
“Emerging economies and MICs are also key FAO partners, as they can share with other countries, through the South-South/Triangular Cooperation modality, their experience and knowledge that can be successfully applied by less privileged countries to overcome food security issues,” Valat believes.
Nadine Valat also noted that the FAO-Azerbaijan Partnership Program, signed on May 25, will be implemented through the new FAO Liaison and Partnership Office in Baku.
The new partnership program, which foresees a $10 million contribution over five years, will focus in the initial stage on support to priority areas that have been identified by the government of Azerbaijan and FAO, through the Country Programming Framework.
The priority areas include animal health and plant protection, supporting investments in agriculture, food security and rural development, support for improved crop yields, fisheries and livestock production, along with sustainable, equitable, and efficient forestry, land and water resource management, capacity development, agricultural education, research and development, as well as strengthening policies and the institutional framework for agriculture and rural development.
“Next December, the Conference of the Parties will hold a crucial meeting to address the issue of climate change,” said Valat. “Climate change has a major impact on the livelihoods of millions of people and on their food security. The world has the technologies and the capacity to eradicate hunger in a sustainable manner.”
“FAO believes that with the support of its goodwill ambassadors, it can spread further the message and make everyone convinced that eradicating hunger is not a dream but a concrete possibility that we could witness during our lifetime,” Valat added.
The team leader went on to add that FAO launched its goodwill ambassadors’ program in 1999 and since then, world-renowned celebrities such as athlete Carl Lewis, actor Raoul Bova, singer Celine Dion, and H.M. Queen Letizia of Spain have put their celebrity status at the service of FAO’s mission to reach out to the general public and advocate on behalf of the FAO and its mandate.
“Personalities such as Ms Leyla Aliyeva have a unique convincing power and their messages can be heard by millions of people,” she said. “We trust that Ms. Leyla Aliyeva can successfully assist the FAO in participating and spreading the word about FAO’s work at high-profile fundraising events in Azerbaijan. Her popularity can attract local media to FAO’s work in the region and raise awareness in the fight against hunger.”
“Ms Leyla Aliyeva might consider visiting FAO field projects in Azerbaijan and in the region and report on the results she could see,” Nadine Valat said.
In recent years, FAO has been broadening its partnership to other key stakeholders, such as the private sector and at large and foundations in particular, she added.
“The Heydar Aliyev Foundation is very well known and active in supporting development activities in Azerbaijan, in particular supporting women income generating activities and environment protection,” she said. “FAO hopes that it will also be possible in the near future to develop a partnership with the Foundation.”
“Through exchange of knowledge and information on development activities in the field of agricultural and rural development, FAO and the Foundation, with the championship of its vice president, could successfully join forces and together build a better world, free of hunger,” said Nadine Valat.
Azerbaijan has been a member of the FAO since 1995. The Project Coordination Office of the organization has operated in the country since 2007.
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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar
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