Pakistan has participated in FAO Council Chairmanship seat at Rome and due to the personal presence of Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan, Federal Minister MNFS&R won the election by a significant margin. The other countries for this slot were Slovakia, Cyprus, Indonesia, Albania and Bosnia. From Pakistan a scientist, Khalid Mehboob was nominated.

Mehboob’s rich experience of over 40 years working at senior positions in FAO and then as Pakistan’s Alternate delegate to FAO, WFP and IFAD, enabled him to seek consensus among all stakeholders and establish effective coordination among the Rome based agencies, which is of great importance for attainment of the goals of FAO.

The key role of FAO Council was to defining overall policies of the organization and regulatory framework of FAO. Exercising or contributing to, the overall administrated bodies of the organization.

Khalid Mehboob won the election by a significant margin by securing 64 votes. The closest runner up received 32 votes.

This successful election is a recognition of Pakistan’s role and contribution to the FAO.