FAO Statement at the 2026 ECOSOC Partnership Forum Plenary Session

FAO Statement at the 2026 ECOSOC Partnership Forum Plenary Session

FAO

27/01/2026

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, dear colleagues,

FAO as a UN Specialized Agency welcomes the convening of this Partnership Forum at the start of the 2026 ECOSOC cycle, at a moment when the international community is called to accelerate transformative, equitable and coordinated actions to deliver on the ambitions of the 2030 Agenda.

We highly value the role of ECOSOC as the central platform for advancing accountable, result-oriented partnerships. Partnerships are not a peripheral modality - they are the central delivery vehicle for the SDGs.

For FAO, partnerships are essential to translating global public goods - norms, standards, data and policies - into integrated country level solutions. By embedding agrifood systems transformation into UN cooperation frameworks through our Analytical Support Mechanism for Agrifood System Country Programming and Evidence (SCOPE), joint financing instruments and inter-agency platforms, we ensure coherence across development, humanitarian, and peace agendas. This integrated approach is critical to advancing the SDGs under review this year, particularly water, infrastructure, energy and sustainable cities, which play a key role within agrifood systems.

Alongside other specialized agencies, FAO safeguards multilateralism through its normative and standard-setting functions, while serving as a platform for innovation and knowledge exchange. Our value proposition lies in delivering coherent, evidence-based, technically sound system-wide support to governments, strengthening governance, policy coherence and programmatic delivery across agrifood systems.

We view pooled financing mechanisms as a powerful catalyst for partnerships and systems change. Instruments such as the Joint SDG Fund provide catalytic capital to build national institutional architecture(s) for transformation - such as multi-sectoral platforms, integrated policy frameworks, and sustainable financial mechanisms for agrifood systems. FAO is working with UN partners and UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, along with governments, civil society and the private sector to design and implement joint programmes under the Food Systems Transformation window, demonstrating how coordinated and targeted financing can unlock systemic impact.

These partnerships are already delivering results - mobilizing private investments in Rwanda, restoring ecosystems and livelihoods in the Dominican Republic, and advancing climate-resilient food systems in the Philippines - while leveraging financing at scale and strengthening national ownership.

Looking ahead, the upcoming review of the ECOSOC and High-Level Political Forum provides an opportunity to advance from fragmented projects to integrated portfolios, aligning financing with long-term national pathways, and most especially strengthening accountability for impact.

FAO stands ready to work with Members and all stakeholders to build partnerships that deliver more sustainable and resilient agrifood systems.

Thank you.