 Excellencies, dear participants, ladies and gentlemen, a very good morning and good afternoon to you. It is my pleasure to join you virtually to mark today's important launch event of a special initiative. FAO's Director General, Dr. Choudong Yu, officially launched the green development of special agricultural products, one country, one priority product, now referred to as OCOP. In September of 2021, OCOP is a global action, and we are implementing it now in specific regions across the world. In March, we launched in Africa, with an event that was attended by over 1,000 stakeholders, including representatives from FAO members, our country and regional offices, academia, and research organizations, civil society, private sector, and resource partners. Today, we launch in Asia Pacific, and it is terrific to see ministers and partners from across South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific all joining today. I would like to congratulate the governments, as well as FAO regional Assistant Director General, J.J. Kim and his team for spearheading OCOP in Asia Pacific. OCOP was developed to address the increasingly complex set of challenges faced by small holders and family farms. Our shared and ultimate objective is to contribute to and achieve the UN's sustainable development goals. To get there, to achieve zero hunger, to eliminate poverty, and to address inequalities, we need to produce more, but we need to do it with less. OCOP provides targeted actions to address the barriers to this progress, helping small holders and family farms to develop and advance their enterprises, and ultimately transform their livelihoods. OCOP fits with national and regional priority programs, helping to deliver on the FAO strategic framework for 2022 to 2031, and the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agri-food systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind. Dear colleagues, this region is especially important. More than 50% of the world's population lives in the Asia-Pacific region, where agricultural development and rural livelihoods are a top priority. FAO's core leadership, our resource and development partners, pay close attention to the region, which has a long and rich history of agricultural development. China, India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan are considered to be the earliest and largest centers of origin and diversity of cultivated plants. Many plants and crops that have become worldwide favorites come from Asia-Pacific. Rice, tea, chickpea, soybeans, buckwheat, radish, cucumber, sugarcane, black pepper, cotton, millet, and fruits, such as pears, peaches, plums, and many others. But the potential of many crops grown in the region is still not fully utilized. OCOP is designed to bring opportunities, to develop sustainable food value chains, and to promote selected special agricultural products to regional and international markets. It's important that we all embrace this opportunity and engage together. The success of OCOP depends on our collective support and robust contributions from all stakeholders across regions and across sectors. This means involving researchers, universities, farmers, cooperatives, and private sector entities to demonstrate, to share knowledge and experiences, and to transfer innovations and green technologies. OCOP is a country-led and country-owned initiative. It needs strong government leadership and commitment. Our OCOP secretariat stands ready to initiate this work together and provide support that is needed to successfully implement field projects and other activities. Thank you again to each of you for being with us today, for your interest and your engagement with all of us here at FAO. I look forward to joining efforts with you in the coming months to drive the change that is needed for farmers and rural communities.