ITALY: FAO still waiting for decision on location of World Food Summit in November

A question mark still hangs over the exact location of the UN's World Food Summit, due to take place between 5 to 9 November. The Italian government has put pressure on the UN and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) to move the forthcoming meeting from Rome to another smaller Italian city, in light of the anti-globalisation riots that rocked the G8 Summit in Genoa in July.

A question mark still hangs over the exact location of the UN’s World Food Summit, due to take place between 5 to 9 November.

The Italian government has put pressure on the UN and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) to move the forthcoming meeting from Rome to another smaller Italian city, in light of the anti-globalisation riots that rocked the G8 Summit in Genoa in July.

The FAO has been based in Rome for fifty years however, leading some Italian government officials to express concern that moving the summit could damage the country’s international standing.

The FAO’s director general, Jacques Diouf, revealed that he is still waiting for “official and very precise proposals” from the Italian authorities for another venue.

Around 100 heads of state and 7,000 delegates are expected to attend the WFS, and Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi and Diouf are establishing a joint commission to decide on the venue.