26 March 2009: King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden met with Jacques Diouf, Director-General, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Lennart Båge, President, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and Josette Sheeran, Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP), to discuss the global food security situation, the impact of climate change on agriculture and the effects of the financial crisis on food prices.

The three officials lauded Sweden’s generous support to the work of FAO, IFAD and WFP, and stressed the importance of continuous funding for assisting farmers that have been hit by disaster, increasing food production for a growing world population while safeguarding natural resources and ecosystems, and reducing poverty and hunger in developing countries. [FAO Press Release]