A Taste of Wellness for Savoury and Snacks
Givaudan
The FAO established a Subregional Office for Central and Eastern Europe as part of the decentralisation process in 1996. With the transition of Central and Eastern European countries to market economies since the early 1990s, the FAO says its activities in the region have grown.
It is now opening a regional office for Europe and Central Asia and a FAO shared services centre. The move is expected to increase the organisation's efficiency in the region and to deliver cost savings.
Part of the agreement with the Hungarian government over the establishment of the offices is a Partnership Framework Agreement, under which the FAO has also secured a commitment from the country to contribute to a number of on-going projects serving food safety, sustainable rural development and the Millennium Development Goals.
The region office is charged with implementing rural development and income-generating projects in the Western Balkans, and providing policy advice on agricultural and agrarian reform in selected CIS countries, and is to provide secretariat for three statutory bodies.
It also supports the European System of Cooperative Research Networks in Agriculture - an umbrella organisation that promotes cooperation between research institutes on food, fibre and agriculture.
The shared services centre, meanwhile, is to carry out administrative functions for the FAO European, Middle Eastern and African regions, with emphasis on management, human resources, finance, travel and acquisitions.
The relocation of the centre to Budapest will take place over the next two years.