The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is expected to employ further Hungarian experts at its Joint Service Centre in Budapest, following the latest expansion in office space, Minister for Rural Development Sándor Fazekas said at a press conference in Budapest on Tuesday.

The Service Centre has been operating in Hungary's capital for five years, during which time the number of people it employs has nearly doubled. A significant number of the Centre's employees are Hungarian, and this is one reason why the Ministry of Rural Development felt that it is important to provide space for the Centre's further expansion, Minister Fazekas said at the press conference held to mark the fifth anniversary of the Service Centre and its latest expansion. By providing office space suitable for the hiring of further staff, the FAO's Budapest offices could be employing 220 people in the near future, he announced.

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva reminded the press that cooperation between Hungary and the FAO had a history going back to 1996, when the first FAO office opened in the capital. This relationship has since flourished into a partnership, he stressed.

Photo: Csaba Pelsőczy

The Director-General also spoke of the fact that the expansion of the Centre, which has been operating in Budapest for the past five years, was made possible by the Hungarian Government and the Ministry of Rural development. The Centre has gradually increased its capacity over the past five years, outsourcing many administrative tasks to its off-shore centre here in Budapest. Sándor Fazekas called the presence of the FAO in Hungary a great political success and a diplomatic achievement. "The presence of specialised UN bodies in Hungary is extremely important to us", he said, adding that Hungary had received valuable support from the organisation as a beneficiary country after having joined the FAO, becoming a donor country after joining the EU, and it continues to support the FAO in the achievement of the organisation's goals in this role.

Prior to the press conference, the Minister of Rural Development held bilateral talks with the FAO Director-General, during which they reviewed the current issues relating to the cooperation between Hungary and the UN's largest, specialised organisation, after which they also toured the new office space under preparation within the building of the Ministry of Rural Development.

(MTI, Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)