农业合作与粮食安全对话会：迈向更有韧性、更可持续的非洲之角

9月22日，应非洲之角国家代表要求，联合国驻华系统支持举办“农业合作与粮食安全对话会：迈向更有韧性、更可持续的非洲之角”。

由于冲突、疫情等因素及洪水和干旱等极端天气的影响，非洲之角地区持续面临严峻的粮食安全危机。根据联合国世界粮食计划署预测，这一地区面临饥饿威胁的人口数量已增至2200万。肯尼亚、索马里和埃塞俄比亚等国的降水不足已导致40年来最严重的干旱，受灾最严重的地区濒临饥荒。

对话会旨在促进相关利益攸关方的行动相聚、相联、相互促进，共同应对这一严峻的人道主义局势和灾难性饥饿，并鼓励所需的政治意愿、公共政策及公共和私营部门伙伴关系等新伙伴关系模式，达成拐点，在非洲实现跨越式绿色革命。对话会是联合国驻华系统南南合作与学习努力的重要支柱。

对话会汇集各利益攸关方，探讨以项目为基础的具体合作领域，促进实现非洲之角国家的粮食安全。来自非洲之角和其他地区的驻华大使出席对话会。与会嘉宾还包括非洲联盟、中方部委、学术界、联合国驻华和驻非洲系统、研究机构、多边开发银行、基金会、美国和英国商会及企业界等方面的代表。

对话会将开启针对性系列活动。通过活动，联合国驻华系统将促进技术援助，支持南南合作，旨在实现中非之间强大平衡、将非洲国家需求置于中心、以可持续发展目标为合作蓝图的伙伴关系。

吉布提共和国驻华大使阿卜杜拉·米吉勒表达了与联合国驻华系统持续合作的浓厚兴趣，以应对非洲国家当前面临的一些最迫切问题，包括在今天对话会上详细讨论的粮食安全及气候变化问题。他表示：“问题在于我们如何拥抱合作，达成折中，而不是延续冲突、大规模流离失所和人道主义灾难的旧叙事。我们必须颠覆正统。本着这种精神，驱动我们今天讨论的理由是以变革性伙伴关系实现非洲之角变革。鉴于农业发展和粮食安全议题日益增长的重要性，我们今天对话会的主题选择恰合时宜。”

外交部非洲司司长吴鹏在发言中感谢非洲驻华使团的伙伴关系和联合国驻华系统一直以来的支持。吴鹏司长表示：“中国坚持中非友好合作精神，愿与地区国家、联合国发展机构和所有真正关心非洲发展的国际伙伴加强合作，共同为地区发展作出贡献。”

联合国驻华协调员常启德在欢迎致辞中感谢中非双方主席在推动关键议题持续参与方面发挥的领导作用。他重申了联合国驻华系统为这方面工作提供持续支持的承诺。他在发言中说：“在非洲之角国家和人民的这一历史紧要关头，可持续发展目标仍是实现一个更可持续、更公正未来的重要蓝图，这一蓝图不应让任何人掉队，国际合作仍是实现这一蓝图的关键。”

活动中，中非双方主席参加了《共同迈向更绿色、更繁荣、更健康的未来—2021年11月达喀尔中非合作论坛第八届部长级会议后续工作研讨会联合纪要》发布会。《联合纪要》的编写得到了联合国驻华系统支持，洛克菲勒基金会提供资金支持。《联合纪要》总结了这方面迄今为止所做的工作，并为未来前进道路提供了重要意见。

《联合纪要》还旨在记录联合国驻华系统作为战略伙伴，汇集知识和技术专长，推动以符合国际规范和标准的方式实现可持续发展目标所做出的努力。

以下为英文全文：

China, The United Nations And Horn Of Africa Ambassadors Forge New Partnership To Accelerate Food Security

BEIJING, 22 September – At the request of representatives of Horn of Africa (HoA) countries, the United Nations (UN) in China supported an event today themed,“Dialogue on Agricultural Cooperation and Food Security: Toward a more resilient and sustainable Horn of Africa”.

The Greater HoA Region continues to face a dire food security crisis driven by several evolving factors, including conflicts, the COVID-19 pandemic, and extreme weather events such as floods and droughts. The number of people at risk of starvation in the region has increased to 22 million, according to the UN’s World Food Programme. Insufficient rainfall across countries such as Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia has caused the worst drought in 40 years and famine-like conditions in the hardest-hit areas.

The dialogue sets out to convene, connect and catalyze action from relevant stakeholders to address this dire humanitarian situation, the catastrophic levels of hunger and starvation, and to be an inflection point that encourages the needed political will, public policies, and new partnerships, including Public-Private partnerships, to leapfrog the green revolution in Africa. The dialogue serves as an important pillar of the UN in China’s South-South Cooperation and learning efforts.

The dialogue brought together diverse stakeholders to explore concrete areas for project-based cooperation toward greater food security in HoA countries. Participants in the dialogue included Ambassadors to China from the HoA region and beyond, the African Union, Chinese ministries and departments, academia, UN representatives from China and Africa, research institutes, Multilateral Development Banks, foundations, American and British Chambers of Commerce, as well as businesses.

The dialogue is the first in a series of targeted activities through which the UN in China will promote technical assistance in support of South-South Cooperation efforts, with the aim of achieving a strong and balanced partnership between China and Africa, one that places African countries’ needs at the centre and adopts the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the blueprint for cooperation.

Abdallah Abdillahi Miguil, Ambassador of the Republic of Djibouti to the People’s Republic of China, expressed his deep interest in ongoing collaboration with the UN in China to address some of the most pressing issues facing African countries today, including the food security issues discussed at length during today’s dialogue, as well as climate change. His Excellency said,“The question is how can we embrace cooperation and compromise, rather than maintain the old narrative of conflicts, large-scale displacement, and humanitarian catastrophe. We have to flip the orthodoxies, and in this spirit, the reason of our discussion today must be the transformation of the Horn of Africa, through a transformative partnership. In view of the growing importance of agricultural development and food security, we have appropriately identified the theme of today’s dialogue."

Wu Peng, Director-General of the Department of African Affairs for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, offered his sincere thanks to the African Ambassadors Group for its partnership in his address during the dialogue. In also thanking the UN in China for its ongoing support, he said,“China, while upholding the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation, is always ready to strengthen cooperation with regional countries, the UN development agencies and all international partners who truly care about Africa’s development, and make joint contributions to regional development.”

Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator in China, in his welcoming remarks, also thanked the African and Chinese Chairs for their leadership in promoting sustained engagement on these critical issues. In reiterating the UN in China’s commitment to providing ongoing support for this work, he said,“At this critical juncture in history for the countries and people of the Horn of Africa, the Sustainable Development Goals remain an essential blueprint for achieving a more sustainable and just future that leaves no one behind, and international cooperation remains key to implementing that blueprint.”

At the dialogue, both the African and Chinese Chairs took part in the launch of the Joint Summary publication, titled“Towards a Greener, More Prosperous, and Healthier Future Together- A Joint Summary of the Symposium Following the 8th FOCAC Ministerial Conference held in Dakar in November of 2021.” The Joint Summary, the development of which was supported by the UN in China with financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation, takes stock of the work done on this thus far and provides important guidance on the way forward.

The Joint Summary also aims to capture the efforts of the UN in China as a strategic partner that is able to bring knowledge and technical expertise and fuel momentum towards the attainment of the SDGs, in line with international norms and standards.