The 12th Slovenian Development Days, which took place under the title “For a world without hunger” from October 15 to 22, 2024, ended with an international conference on food security and another Slovenian humanitarian forum. The second Slovenian humanitarian forum was opened by the president Dr. Nataša Pirc Musar, and Minister Tanja Fajon took part in the panel on armed conflicts and the food crisis.
The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Honorary Patron of the Second Slovenian Humanitarian Forum, in her opening address, dr Nataša Pirc Musar focused on the alarming situation of children, victims of conflicts, and awarded the two schoolgirls who participated in the prize competition for a world without hunger.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon emphasized at the panel entitled “Vicious cycle between armed conflicts and the food crisis”: “In Gaza, hunger has become a tool of war. People are dying because they do not have access to humanitarian aid. Slovenia uses all the political means at its disposal to establish peace, as we are aware that this is our joint responsibility. I can say with certainty that Slovenia’s voice is heard in the international arena regarding issues of peace and security.” In addition to the minister, the panel included the Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East, Philippe Lazzarini, and the Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Program Carl Skau and the national coordinator of Caritas Malawi Chimwemwe Nyambose Ndhlovu. The panelists discussed the alarming global food crisis, especially from the perspective of humanitarian aid, conflict prevention and peace building. They also talked about how to ensure safe and unimpeded humanitarian access in crisis situations, how to protect critical civilian infrastructure and establish safe conditions for food production, including through humanitarian demining and effective management of arable land and water resources.
In the afternoon part of the conference, Carsten Staur, chairman of the Committee for Development Assistance of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), presented the Report of the Mutual Review of International Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid of Slovenia . The implementation of these recommendations was then presented by the Director General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, Edvin Skrt.
This was followed by a panel entitled “Food security and the construction of sustainable food systems” with an opening address by the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, M.Sc. Urške Klakočar Zupančič. The executive director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Tatiana Molcean, the chairman of the OECD Development Assistance Committee Carsten Staur, the deputy minister of economy of Ukraine and trade representative of Ukraine Taras Kačka, the chairman of the European confederation of non-governmental organizations in the field of sustainable development CONCORD Rilli Lappalainen and State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs dr. Melita Gabric. The panelists spoke about the main challenges of transforming global food systems and the role that United Nations (UN) agencies and programs play in this. They paid special attention to the question of whether we can even achieve a world without hunger by 2030, which is the second goal of sustainable development in the framework of the 2030 Agenda.
They also presented examples of good practices in ensuring food security. One such example is the Coalition for School Meals, which Slovenia joined today. The initiative, under the auspices of the World Food Programme, aims to ensure that by 2030 all children around the world have a healthy and nutritious meal at school. The statement of commitment was signed by the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Tanja Fajon, in the presence of the Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Program, Carl Skau.
On the sidelines of the conference, Minister Tanja Fajon signed an agreement on a joint project between Slovenia and the World Food Program to strengthen the climate resilience of communities in the arid regions of Kenya. In addition, she held bilateral talks with the Chairman of the OECD Development Assistance Committee Carsten Staur, with the Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East Philipp Lazzarini, the Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Program Carl Skau and the Executive Director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Tatiana Molcean.
Source: Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs