A meeting of the Agriculture Ministers of the G20 countries was held in Cuiaba, Brazil. Azerbaijan was represented by the delegation led by the Minister of Agriculture Majnun Mammadov at the prestigious international event attended by agriculture ministers from 23 countries. State institutions of different countries, private sector, representatives of international organizations, specialists and experts working in the agricultural field also took part in the meeting.

The main objective of the event, hosted by Brazil for the first time, is to discuss measures to build sustainable agriculture, ensure food security and fight hunger.

Carlos Favaro, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil, who opened the event with his opening speech, said that in the background of global climate change, ensuring the inclusive and sustainable development of agriculture has become one of the main goals. He noted that increasing production in the agricultural sector and measures to effectively combat hunger require regular cooperation at the global level.

Speaking at the event, Azerbaijan's Minister of Agriculture, Majnun Mammadov, said that loss of biodiversity, climate change, land degradation and water scarcity pose great threats to agro-food systems all over the world. In order to achieve sustainable development against the backdrop of modern challenges, the Minister pointed out that cooperation in the fields of digital transformation of agriculture, technology transfer in this field, sharing of advanced practices is necessary. Minister Majnun Mammadov said that the projects implemented in Azerbaijan, which is an important transit and logistics center in the Eurasian region, play the role of an important trade bridge between the East-West and North-South transport corridors, adding that these corridors can greatly benefit the development of our trade relations.

Minister Majnun Mammadov touched on the importance of holding the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Azerbaijan, and emphasized that our country enthusiastically joins the initiatives arising from global challenges and attaches importance to effective cooperation with international partners.

Rapid population growth, changing consumer demands, climate change and depletion of natural resources, creating a sustainable agricultural system in line with new challenges, ensuring food and food security by increasing productivity while protecting the environment were touched upon at the Ministerial Meeting.

At the end of the two-day event, the Declaration of Agriculture Ministers of the G20 countries was adopted. The declaration reflected the necessity of building sustainable agro-food systems, strengthening the role of family farms in agriculture and supporting the expansion of their activities, promoting the integration of fisheries and aquaculture into local and global value chains, and strengthening multilateral cooperation in measures to combat hunger and poverty.