Pedro Sánchez in Rome: "Hunger is a cheaper weapon than missiles and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law"

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has taken part in Nutrition Week in Rome, which brings together UN agencies, governments and experts to coordinate the fight against hunger and malnutrition. In this context, he held a meeting with the heads of the three UN agencies responsible for world food issues, whose head offices are in Rome: the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

During the meeting, the president of the Government of Spain conveyed to them that, at a time when multilateralism is under pressure, Spain's commitment to the FAO, WFP and IFAD is unwavered. Spain is strengthening the UN's capacity to respond to the global food crisis and deliver large-scale humanitarian aid by reinforcing cooperation with the World Food Programme.

Pedro Sánchez spoke at the event "Food Security and Nutrition under Pressure: Consequences of the Middle East Conflict" and lamented the persistence of the scourge of hunger in the world despite the productive capacities and scientific solutions available. "Today, malnutrition is not only robbing millions of children of their present," he said. "It robs them of their future before they even know they have one," he added.

Regarding the work to the agencies present, the president of the Government of Spain conveyed a message of hope and confidence, in a complex international context. "Those who set the world on fire are never those who end up starving," he said, calling for the defence of international law and recalling Spain's firm condemnation of attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure. He noted that "hunger is a cheaper weapon than missiles and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law." "With the same determination that we say no to war, we say no to hunger," said Pedro Sánchez.

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, pose with the other authorities at the FAO headquarters in Rome | Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo

The president of the Government of Spain has also vindicated Spain as a benchmark country in food security and as an agricultural exporting power - the fourth in Europe and tenth in the world - thanks to the Government's commitment to promoting innovation, family and professional agriculture, as well as the participation of women in agricultural activity, trade openness and international cooperation. In Spain, the agri-food sector represents 10% of GDP and agricultural income has increased 12% compared over the previous year.

Pedro Sánchez highlighted Spain's commitment to health and global food security, nutrition and humanitarian action, and recalled specific actions implemented by the Government, such as the contribution of 320 million euros in the last two years to food security and nutrition projects, the hosting of the WFP logistics centre in Las Palmas, which plays an essential role in aid operations in West Africa and the Sahel, and Spain's support for the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.

He reiterated the conviction that strengthening and defending the multilateral architecture is the way to anticipate risks, monitor markets and support coordinated responses. With regard to the international food system, Pedro Sánchez outlined five priority areas for action: a fair, transparent and rules-based agricultural trade system; ensuring access to fertilisers and efficient use of water; and guaranteeing generational change by making progress in the incorporation of women and young people into agriculture. Finally, he advocated a greater ambition for the One Health approach and for technological innovation and training.

"We are the artificial intelligence generation, which the Pope himself spoke about yesterday and raised the challenges facing humanity. We are the human genome sequence generation, the generation that will conquer space. But posterity will not judge us by these achievements but by how it was possible that, with all the means to prevent it, we allowed millions of people to continue to die of hunger every year," concluded the president of the Government of Spain.

Non official translation