 Mr. Chairperson, Mr. Director General, Honorable Ministers, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates and Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Fiji, it is an honor and a pleasure for me to address the 35th session of FIU Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific regarding the outcome, the 34th session of the Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific held at Dundarao in Fiji from 9 to 13 April 2018. I take this opportunity to thank the Royal Government of Bhutan for hosting this virtual meeting of the 35th session of APRC and their initial willingness to have hosted the meeting in Bhutan. I need hardly add that we are meeting not in the beautiful country of Bhutan but through the medium of internet because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is an extraordinary time in the world. The coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic has had serious deleterious effects on the agricultural sector. It has disrupted food systems, including food production, movement of agricultural labour, domestic and international trade as well as on food consumption habits and food security. It is in this climate that the work of the food and agricultural organization to combat hunger has greater importance than ever before in our lifetimes. FIU must now support member nations to take proactive steps to mitigate the negative effects of the coronavirus and the welfare and livelihoods of peoples on national economies, labour, population mobility and global trade. It must help to protect the most vulnerable peoples and strive to lift the impoverished out of poverty and hunger. I sincerely hope and pray that we will find the necessary tools to overcome this crisis and restore health to all peoples. I would like now to turn to the 34th session of the ARPC and give you a recap of the highlights and the most significant decisions of that meeting which has informed the work of every year. As you know, Fiji had the honour of hosting the 34th session of the ARPC in Nindi two years ago. The senior officer's session was chaired by then Permanent Secretary for Agriculture of the Government of the Republic of Fiji, Mr. David Kori Thanan. The ministerial segment was chaired by my predecessor Honorable Inya B. Sereratu, who was then Minister of Agriculture, Rural and Maritime Development, National Disaster Management and Metrological Services of the Republic of Fiji. The regional conference was attended by representatives of 35 member countries. Observers attended from one non-member country, 14 international non-governmental organisations and four inter-governmental organisations. Representatives of the five other UN organisations also participated. Final report, Conference to Document C 2019, Strobe 15, includes a summary of the main recommendations, requiring the attention of the Council and another, requiring the attention of the Conference and Council. The 34th session of the ARPC considered several regional and global policy and regulatory issues, such as state of food and agriculture in the region, revitalising the rural economy through enhanced linkages between small scale agricultural production and value chains, promoting national nutritional policies and investments and integrating nutritional objectives into food and agricultural policy, programme design and implementation and blue growth. Following the deliberations on these issues, the regional conference highlighted challenges related to the adverse effects of climate change, frequent natural disasters, environmental degradation, increasing demands on land and water resources, changing demographics affecting the agriculture sector and animal and plant pests and diseases. It recognised the important roles of smallholders, family farmers, fishers in contributing to food security and nutrition and call for efforts to enhance the capacity to more effectively link with modern value chains. It recommended that FIU assist countries in strengthening sector-specific contributions under the 2030 Agenda and to assist countries in enhancing systems for monitoring and reporting sector activities. FIU was urged to continue to support countries in integrating agriculture into their national policies, strategies and programmes for climate change and disaster risk reduction in management. The APRC emphasised capacity building, research and development, technology transfer, robust data collection and analyses, sound agricultural policies and strategies, infrastructure development and increased investment in the agriculture sector as key needs. It stressed the need to increase sustainable agricultural production and productivity, reduce food loss and waste and facilitate transparent, open and efficient trade of food to celebrate progress towards food security, nutrition in the region. Food safety issues were noted and the conference recommended that FIU integrate and mainstream food safety and nutrition in agriculture and food systems work. It recommended that FIU strengthen, prototype, collaboration between the World Organization for Enderman Health, the World Health Organization and FIU. In order to reinforce capacities of countries, FIU was requested to provide guidance and capacity development for the design and modernisation of food safety regulatory and control frameworks and indicators in the region. In a larger sense, FIU was asked to encourage a mildew for research and innovation that empowers industry, including micro, small and medium enterprises, and small and low industry incorporate best international practices and voluntary standards as well as securing food safety certification for improved market access. Regional conference underlined the need for continuity in strategic direction of the organization and appreciated the alignment between the FIU's strategic objectives and the sustainable development goals in guiding future actions in agriculture, food security and nutrition, and welcomed alignment of FIU's strategic objectives with SDGs. The regional conference highlighted the importance of mobilizing investment and strengthening collaboration between partner organizations at global, regional and national levels, including with research institutions, multilateral development institution, civil society organizations, the private sector and other regional and international organizations. The regional conference emphasized the value of regional sharing of knowledge, experiences and expertise, including through South-South cooperation. The meeting also noted issues relating to decentralization and the prioritization of country and regional needs, recognizing the need to update the coverage of FIU offices in order to adapt to current developments and requirements. It appreciated steps taken to decentralize roles, responsibilities, authorities and resources that urged FIU to continue such decentralization efforts, whilst improving the technical capacity of the organization. The conference reviewed and endorsed the draft multi-year program of the work 2018-2020 for the FIU Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific. The conference welcomed the joint communique of the first joint FIU and SPC meeting of the ministers of agriculture and forestry held in Portville, Vanuatu in October 2017. The regional conference recommended that FIU provide technical assistance to develop specific solutions customized to the Pacific small island development states. The conference emphasized the importance and efficacy of partnerships to effectively implement actions for food security and to deliver coordinated multi-sectoral actions through a sustainable food systems approach for healthy diets. The chairperson of the Committee on World Food Security updated the regional conference on the main outcomes of the CFS since the previous IPRC in 2016 and the relevance of this work to the FIU regional conference. In particular, the chairperson noted the critical role of women's empowerment, rural urban dynamics, including the challenges of urbanization and rural transformation, responsible investments in agriculture and governance of land tenure amongst many other areas as well as delivering policy recommendations on sustainable livestock and forests and connecting small holders to markets. We are pleased that the senior officers meetings earlier this week substantially discussed progress made on FIU's priorities in the region during 2018-2019, the priorities for the current biennium. We have noted the FIU now proposes an improved approach to the implementation in the Asia and the Pacific region during the 2020-21 biennium with four enhanced regional initiatives and the introduction of 14 programmatic areas of focus that will ensure the delivery of tangible and measurable results for the greater impact. These priorities for FIU's work are very important and we hope they will build on the early achievements and enhance FIU's contributions to agricultural and rural development and food security in the Asia and the Pacific region. I thank you for your kind attention and express my full confidence that this conference will meet its objectives and provide sound policy guidance to FIU. Vinaka Vakalim.