ROME, November 6. /TASS/. Russia is making big contribution to the fight against hunger on the planet, Head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Jose Graziano da Silva said in an exclusive interview with TASS First Deputy General Director Mikhail Gusman on Friday.
"The main task of our organization is to eradicate hunger and Russia is making big contribution to the attainment of this goal," he said.
Da Silva thanked Russia for its donor assistance in implementing FAO programs.
The FAO head said there were 800 million hungry people in the world while 2 billion people were suffering from malnourishment due to the shortage of essential minerals and vitamins.
"We expect much from the joint work with Russia. FAO needs Russia and Russia can be useful for FAO," da Silva said, noting that the organization’s experts could share their experience in a whole number of spheres, from agriculture to livestock breeding, fishing and forestry.
The FAO head said he was convinced that Russia’s role was important as the country was part of both the European continent and Central Asia while the Russian language was the basic tongue of communication in a whole region.
The FAO office opened in Moscow is recognition of this important role, da Silva said.
The FAO office in Moscow will serve as a platform for work both with Russia and the CIS states and Central Europe, he said.
"We view Moscow as our important center in the European and Central Asian regions," the FAO head said.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations was set up immediately after World War Two (October 16,1945) and is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year along with the UN.
Although the Soviet Union was a founder of FAO, Russia became the organization’s full-fledged member only in 2009. Russia is one of the organization’s six official languages. FAO is headquartered in the Italian capital.