The Ministry of Agriculture and Food is a principal institution responsible for cooperation with FAO (according to an amendment to Decree of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus “Cooperation of the Republic of Belarus with International Organizations” ¹ 1504 of October 30, 2002).

In June 2006, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to Italy Mr. Alexei Skripko was accredited as Permanent Representative of the Republic of Belarus to FAO.

Since September 2006 Belarus has been a member of the joint FAO/WHO (World Health Organization) Commission “Codex Alimentarius” – a principle organ coordinating international efforts aimed at developing food standards. The membership in the Commission enables Belarus to have a voice in the process of formation, changing and elimination of technical barriers in international trade following the interests of national producers.

In November 2006, a Belarusian delegation headed by First Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Mrs. Natalya Kotkovets took part in the 131st Session of the FAO Council in Rome. In 2006 Belarusian experts participated in sessions of FAO Committee on Phitosanitary Measures (April, Rome); of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (June, Madrid); in the Regional FAO Conference for Europe and 34th session of European FAO Commission for Agriculture (June, Riga).

In April 2006, Director of the joint FAO/IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Division of Nuclear Technology in Food and Agriculture, Mr. Qu Liang visited Belarus. He took part in the International Conference “Chernobyl 20 years after. Strategy for recovery and sustainable development of the affected regions”.

In January 2007, a FAO mission headed by Ms. Maria Kadlechikova, FAO Subregional Representative for Central and Eastern Europe (Budapest), visited Belarus.

Within the framework of cooperation with the FAO Belarus is elaborating an opportunity to attract FAO technical assistance to priority projects in agriculture, ecology, mitigation of the Chernobyl consequences and improvement of foodstuffs quality. All projects have been generally approved by FAO and are currently being adjusted to the FAO requirements.

In 2008 work on development of cooperation with FAO was focused on the coordination of projects on attraction of the technical assistance to organizations in Republic of Belarus and development of a draft agreement between the government of the Republic of Belarus and FAO to provide technical assistance services.

In 2008 Belarus took part in the FAO Conference on food security and climate change, sessions of the FAO European Regional Conference and European Commission on Agriculture, as well as the 34th session of the FAO Committee on Food Security and special 35th session of the FAO Conference.

In the beginning of 2009 in the Republic of Belarus there was approved the position of FAO National Correspondent in Belarus, which was held by Iryna Alexandrovna Kazakevich, Ph.D. in Economics, Head of Finances and Credit Department of Republican Scientific Unitary Enterprise "Institute of System Studies in Agro-Industrial Complex of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus".

In the period May 25 - 29, 2009 the visit to the Republic of Belarus of a FAO mission was held. FAO experts Ms Yuriko Shoji, Chief of the Technical Cooperation Programme Service (TCOT), and Mr Luis Bombin, International Legal Consultant, on behalf of the Legal Office) visited Belarus. For the FAO mission there were organized meetings with Ms. Nadezhda Kotkovets, the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus, with the staff of the Ministry of Economy, with the management of the Ministry of Forestry, with the experts of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Besides, three rounds of negotiations on the Draft Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and FAO on technical assistance services were held. The Agreement was approved and is planned to be countersigned by the end of 2009. In course of the realized meetings there were discussed the problems of participation of the Republic of Belarus in FAO Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP FAO) as well as the consideration of TCP projects ("Fire management capacity building" and "Food safety capacity building").

From July 22 to 25, 2009 UN Planning Exercise Meeting (UNDAF) Workshop was held in Minsk. The FAO was represented by Ms Fernanda Guerrieri, FAO Deputy Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia and Subregional Coordinator for Central and Eastern Europe and Mr. Avetik Nersisyan, FAO Crop Production and Protection Officer, SEU. Some meetings were organized for the FAO representatives with the experts of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus, the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus in course of which there were held discussions on the topics of a presentation on the FAO general strategy with special regard to FAO Regional and Subregional Offices cooperation with Belarus, also presenting the work FAO is already doing in the Subregion and pointing out some important issues where FAO would possibly be able to render assistance in order to strengthen collaboration, such as phitosanitary services, management of obsolete pesticides and pesticide residue control, animal health issues and rural development. Also the visit to the Agro Enterprise "Krutogor'e - Petkovichi" was organized.

In September 2009 at the direction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus there was approved the position of FAO National Coordinator in Belarus for Animal Genetic Resources, which was held by Ivan Stepanovich Kyssa, Doctor of Biological Sciences, General Director of Agricultural Limited Liability Company "Bel-Simeks".