FoodDiplomacy Network Established with Strong Greek Participation and the Support of the Agricultural University of Athens

The first step toward the establishment of the FoodDiplomacy Network, an independent global platform for strategic dialogue and analysis that aspires to position food diplomacy as a new pillar of international cooperation, has recently been announced. The initiative begins with the publication of the Network’s Manifesto, a bold policy statement that places food security and food systems at the center of the global geopolitical agenda. The formal establishment of the Network will follow the completion of the necessary institutional arrangements—a deliberate choice designed to ensure that the Network is founded on solid and appropriate governance structures.

Food, Power, and Global Stability

The Network is built upon a simple yet transformative premise: food is not merely a technical issue—it is a political one. From the COVID-19 pandemic to the war in Ukraine, recent crises have exposed the fragility of global food systems and highlighted the extent to which they are shaped by political dynamics. Yet global governance mechanisms continue to address food primarily as a technical matter, leaving fundamental questions of power, sovereignty, and accountability insufficiently explored.

The FoodDiplomacy Network seeks to bridge this gap by providing a space where governments, the private sector, academia, and civil society can engage in meaningful dialogue and jointly develop new approaches to the governance of global food systems.

Strong Greek Participation

Greece plays a central role in this initiative. The Network was founded by Dr. Stefanos Fotiou, a former senior official of the United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with extensive experience in the international governance of food systems.

The Network is supported by two key institutions: the European Public Law Organization (EPLO), an international organization headquartered in Athens, and the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), one of Europe’s leading academic institutions in the fields of food and agricultural sciences.

Professor Spyridon Flogaitis, Director of the EPLO, and Professor Spyridon Kintzios, Rector of the Agricultural University of Athens, serve as members of the Network’s Founders’ Circle. Both institutions have expressed their commitment to supporting and jointly hosting the Network, bringing together the institutional authority of an international organization established by international treaty and the academic excellence and research depth of one of Europe’s foremost universities in agricultural and food sciences.

The Founders’ Circle

The Network is being established around a Founders’ Circle that brings together distinguished leaders from five continents. Members include Ibrahim Mayaki, former Prime Minister of Niger and former African Union Special Envoy; Graziano da Silva, former Director-General of the FAO and current Director-General of the Zero Hunger Institute; Inaya Ezzeddine, Member of Parliament of Lebanon; David Lane, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies in Rome; as well as other prominent leaders from civil society and the international policy community.

Further Information

The FoodDiplomacy Network Manifesto is available at: fooddiplomacy.net

For further information:

Email: info@fooddiplomacy.net

Tel.: +30 698 502 2570