Resolution on the World Food Summit FAO, Rome, June 2002

The Council welcomes the forthcoming World Food Summit : five years later, which will be held in Rome on 10-13 June 2002, as a central event in the cycle of high-level international conferences, from Monterrey to Johannesburg, held in 2002 at a time of renewed political attention to the fight against poverty and hunger as well as for food security and overall global relations. The World Food Summit: five years later is the first opportunity to translate the landmark consensus reached at Monterrey on the mobilisation of national and international resources for a renewed development process, into the reaffirmation of the political will to combat poverty and hunger and its causes, and to enhance a renewed partnership between governments, civil society and the private sector for the reduction of world hunger in the context of food security and sustainable development, in the perspective of the World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg. The Council reiterates its strong commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which include reducing poverty and hunger by half by 2015, as the basis for specific national and international poverty reduction strategies and the mobilisation of resources at the appropriate priority level in line with the Monterrey Consensus. The Council stresses the need for a broader approach when addressing with renewed strength the underlying causes of hunger and poverty, such as the lack of peace, security and stability. Rural development and the agricultural sector of developing partners, especially LDCs, should receive increased policy attention and adequate resources in line with the commitments of the Barcelona Summit, taking into account the conclusions of the Doha Round. The Council believes that the reduction of hunger and poverty should be seen in connection with food security and social and economic stability and that, in this context, the World Food Summit is a timely opportunity to renew a constructive dialogue with developing partners leading to a coherent and comprehensive implementation of the positive consensus emerging from Monterrey (and leading to Johannesburg). Such a dialogue requires sustained action, of which the EU, based on the decisions adopted at the Barcelona Summit, should become the leading force.�