At the meeting (Photo: VNA)

The event, held biennially, is to approve the working agenda and budget of FAO for the next two years, as well as provide recommendations on food and agriculture, and consider global governance policy issues.

Addressing the opening session, Singaporean Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Co-chair of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water Tharman Shanmugaratnam highlighted the need to improve the effectiveness of water resource management to achieve the global goals related to poverty reduction, climate change response and global environment.

He also commended Vietnam's successful innovations in reducing water usage in agriculture through the use of sensors and innovative irrigation practices, citing the VnSAT project as a successful model in water-saving irrigation.

The election of the new FAO Director-General for the 2023-2027 tenure will take place through a secret ballot on Sunday.