FAO and GRÓ cooperation explored during FAO DG visit to Iceland
Dr. Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently paid an official visit to Iceland. As part of his programme, he met with representatives of the GRÓ Centre for Capacity Development, Sustainability and Societal Change.
The DG’s visit to Iceland provided a good opportunity to inform the FAO Director-General about the work of the four GRÓ programmes and the important contributions of GRÓ alumni around the world, who are advancing sustainable development in their home countries. The meeting also provided an opportunity to explore possible future avenues of cooperation between FAO and GRÓ, reinforcing Iceland’s role in capacity development and international knowledge exchange.
The meeting was opened by Ms. Elín R. Sigurðardóttir, Director General of the Directorate for International Development Cooperation at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Iceland. She underlined the importance of the partnership between Iceland and FAO in advancing international development goals; highlighted the vital role of training, collaboration, and innovation in addressing global challenges related to sustainability, food systems, and climate resilience.
Following the opening, Ms. Nína Björk Jónsdóttir, Director General of GRÓ, presented the work of GRÓ, highlighted the contributions of its four training programmes in the fields of land restoration, fisheries, geothermal energy, and gender equality to sustainable development around the world. Together, these programmes aim to build institutional capacity and professional expertise in partner countries, empowering individuals and communities to contribute to sustainable development and long-term societal change.
Representatives of three of the training programmes, Dr. Sjöfn Vilhelmsdóttir, Director of the GRÓ Land Restoration Training Programme, Mr. Þór Ásgeirsson, Director of the GRÓ Fisheries Training Programme, and Mr. Ingimar Haraldsson, Deputy Director General of the GRÓ Geothermal Training Programme, each presented ongoing efforts and achievements of their respective training programmes.
The meeting was also attended by Mr. Godfrey Magwenzi and Mr. Maurizio Martina, both Deputy Directors-General of FAO and Mr. Guðmundur Árnason, Permanent Representative of Iceland to FAO, as well as other FAO and MFA representatives.
