Iran’s Minister of Agriculture Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh has urged international organizations, particularly the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, to take a more active role in removing barriers to food supply and distribution worldwide, describing access to food as an undeniable basic human right.
Speaking during a meeting with FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu at the agency’s headquarters in Rome, Nouri Ghezeljeh said Iran is ready to expand technical and credit cooperation with FAO and to share its experience in food security with the organization and interested countries.
The minister was in Italy to attend the 54th session of the Committee on World Food Security. During the talks, he outlined Iran’s approach to maintaining food security under difficult conditions, citing the resilience of the country’s food supply system and agricultural production cycle despite sanctions and recent challenges. He also reviewed measures taken by the government, private sector and agricultural economic actors to sustain food security.
Nouri Ghezeljeh reiterated that food security is a fundamental right and said international bodies have a duty to protect it more seriously. He proposed that FAO, in cooperation with other UN bodies, establish a special working group to examine global food security challenges—especially obstacles to food access and movement—and to follow up on practical solutions.
The minister also noted that food and abnormal price increases have become among the world’s most pressing issues, calling on international organizations to pursue equitable and sustainable access to food with greater urgency.
FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu expressed interest in expanding cooperation with Iran and stressed the importance of interaction among member states to achieve sustainable food security. He recalled Iran’s role in the formation of FAO and noted that the country was among the organization’s first members.
On the sidelines, he met counterparts from FAO member states and spoke with Italian media.
