ESTONIA'S POSITION ON PROPOSED PARTNERSHIP

UNCLAS TALLINN 000407 SIPDIS STATE FOR EEB MICHAEL LURIE, JANET SPECK USAID FOR BILL HAMMINK, USDA FOR KIRK MILLER WARSAW FOR AG COUNSELOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ETRD EAGR TBIO EAID PFOV EN SUBJECT: ESTONIA'S POSITION ON PROPOSED PARTNERSHIP FOR AGRICULTURE AND FOOD (GPAF) REF: STATE 123480 ¶1. On November 24 we delivered reftel points to Siim Tiidemann, the Head of the Foreign Relations Department of the Ministry of Agriculture. According to Tiidemann, the Government of Estonia (GOE) welcomes this global partnership for better coordination of global food security on a political level. Tiidemann assured us that the core principles of GPAF are in accord with Estonia's positions on this matter, including: -- Continued high level policy attention to global food security; -- Use of existing institutions; -- Openness to all stakeholders; -- Synergy of different strategies; -- Effectiveness and flexibility of assistance; -- Ensuring monitoring and evaluation. ¶2. According to Tiidemann, the GOE supports the UN High-Level Task Force as a Secretariat for the GPAF. However, the GOE believes the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) should also be involved. Further, Estonia sees FAO's critical role in formation of the global network of experts, in order to avoid duplications of activities. DECKER