A statement released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) during the Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference.
Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar praised the World Food Programme (WFP) on Sunday for promoting food self-sufficiency and supporting governmental and global efforts to ensure long-term solutions to the hunger crisis.
According to the statement, Tomar also thanked the ministers for attending the global conference organised by India with the goal of promoting Shree Anna during the International Year of Millets (IYM).
According to him, the International Year of Millets is being observed in order for the Indian Shree Anna, its recipes, and value-added products to be recognised globally as a people's movement. He hoped to deepen India's agricultural ties with other countries.
The MoU between the World Food Programme and the Government of India for cooperation between 2023 and 2027 was signed during the global conference in the presence of Agriculture Minister Tomar. According to the statement, Manoj Juneja, UNWFP's Deputy Chief Executive Director, Management, and Chief Financial Officer, and Elizabeth Faure, WFP Representative and Country Director in India, were present.
Meanwhile, he met with counterparts from various countries participating in the Global Millets Conference on a bilateral basis. Union Minister Tomar, in a meeting with Guyana's Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustafa, recalled the visit of Guyana's President, Mohammad Irfan Ali, and Vice-President of Guyana, Bharat Jagdev, and stated that agriculture is an important area of cooperation between the two countries.
He expressed satisfaction with the steady progress of India-Guyana relations and expressed hope for concrete cooperation in agriculture and related sectors.
Tomar congratulated Guyana on its massive crude oil discovery, saying that it would allow Guyana to establish itself as a major energy exporter, with the potential to transform its people's lives.
He expressed immense potential for cooperation between India and Guyana in agriculture and agro-processing industries, stating that the two countries complement each other because Guyana has vast arable land and water availability and India has the technology, expertise, and skilled manpower, which will benefit both countries.
"India is keen to share its expertise and experience in the development of agriculture and allied sectors in Guyana, for which an MoU is under finalization. He assured that Guyana's request for the deputation of two experts to ITEC from India for three years to support the Guyana Sugar Corporation management and revive the sugar estates/plants in Guyana would be considered at the earliest," the statement read.
Tomar met with counterparts from Zambia, Suriname, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka in addition to Guyana.