Turkey to be member of UN’s food, agriculture unit

ROME - Anatolia News Agency

Turkish Food and Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker meets the representatives of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Italy. AA photo

Turkey was elected a council member of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), based in the Italian capital Rome.

At the second round of the elections of the 38th General Conference of the FAO, Turkey won membership to the FAO Council between July 2013 and July 2016 with 115 votes out of 116.

Russia was elected in the first round with 142 votes out of 162 while Turkey and Hungary were elected in the second round surpassing the votes for the Greek Cypriot administration.

The Turkish Embassy in Rome issued a statement that Turkey was entitled to membership of the FAO Council thanks to the support of Latin American, African, Middle Eastern and Asian countries as well as some EU countries. “FAO elections affirmed the international trust in Turkey,” the statement said, stressing that the membership was a result of the intense lobbying in Italy and multilateral diplomacy of Turkey along with its international role and efforts in food safety, sustainable development, agriculture, prevention of famine and rural development, among others.