UNGA81 High-level Dialogue on the 5th Anniversary of the Global Development Initiative (GDI) Statement

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

中秋节快乐 Happy Middle Autumn Festival !

First, I salute China and President XI Jinping for initiating the Global Development Initiative (GDI) five years ago.

Five years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic had exposed the fragility of our global agrifood systems. Hunger was rising. Supply chains were breaking. And the most vulnerable were impacted the most.

In that moment, the GDI emerged with a clear and strong message: development must remain at the center of international cooperation - and no country should be left behind.

During these first five years, the GDI broadened international cooperation around priorities directly relevant to FAO's mandate: poverty reduction, food security, green development, innovation, and South-South and Triangular Cooperation.

Furthermore, the GDI's focus on food security, and sustainable agriculture is directly in line with FAO's Strategic Framework 2022-31 - unanimously endorsed by FAO Members - under the over arch of the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

Over the past five years we have seen how determined action, together with political will and enabling policies, can turn challenges into opportunities.

We have seen hunger reduced when investments are made in rural resilience.

We have seen innovation - from digital tools for smallholder farmers to climate-smart agriculture - transform lives and livelihoods.

But progress is not fast enough. And it is not reaching everyone.

Conflict, higher frequency and intensity of climate events, economic shocks, and inequality continue to drive food insecurity.

The right to food is a fundamental human right, yet in many regions of the world this right remains unfulfilled.

The clock is ticking on the 2030 Agenda - we have less than four years to our collective deadline - and we are not on track.

As we look at the next five years, we must move from dialogue to delivery, from initiative to impact, from potential to prosperity.

We must walk the talk from show cases to scale!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

FAO is fully committed to partnerships, innovation and action.

FAO stands ready to deepen its partnership with all GDI stakeholders.

We bring to this partnership technical expertise grounded in science, knowledge and decades of field experience.

We bring our convening power and knowledge excellence - uniting governments, civil society, the private sector, financiers, and academia.

And we bring a proven track record of supporting countries to transform their agrifood systems.

We are committed to advancing South-South and Triangular Cooperation - a business model championed by the GDI, and long supported by FAO.

By sharing knowledge, technology, and best practices among countries of the Global South, we accelerate progress in ways that are locally owned and locally led.

We also recognize the critical role of innovation.

From early warning systems to smart agriculture, from fintech for smallholders to renewable energy for rural communities - innovation is not a luxury. It is a necessity.

And we must continue to prioritize green development and produce more with less under overall guidance of 4 Betters.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The next five years must be years of delivery.

I call on all partners to do four things:

First - scale up investment in agrifood systems, particularly in rural infrastructure, research, and extension services.

Second - strengthen policy coherence, ensuring that trade, climate, and development policies work together, not against each other.

Third - empower smallholder farmers, especially women and youth, who produce a significant share of the world's food but often lack access to resources, markets, and technology.

Fourth - deepen partnerships, by learning together, designing together and implementing together for shared future because no single institution, no single country, can accomplish SDGs alone.

FAO is fully committed to working with all of you - with the GDI, with Members, and with all stakeholders - to turn shared principles into shared prosperity.

Dear Colleagues,

Five years ago, the Global Development Initiative gave us a vision.

Today, we have the opportunity - and the responsibility - to turn that vision into reality.

Let us move forward with urgency, with determination, and with hope.

Let us ensure that the next five years are defined not by what we pledged, but by what we achieved for a better future.

Thank you.