23 March 2021
Dear Madam Speaker,
Dear Mr. Speaker
The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General will host a Food Systems Summit in conjunction with this
year's UN High Level week in September. Food systems encompass all the people, institutions and
processes that play a part in producing, processing, transporting and consuming food, touching every
aspect of human existence. However, too many of the world’s food systems are fragile and vulnerable
to collapse, as has been exposed during the COVID-19 crisis. Despite the setbacks, the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) offer a roadmap to deliver on resilience for people, planet and the
economy, and should be at the heart of recovery efforts from COVID-19.
The Food Systems Summit aims to support countries to identify a set of guiding principles and priority
actions to implement reforms at all levels of food systems. Through their representative role,
parliamentarians play a key role in voicing how people are affected by current failures and inequalities
of food systems. Ensuring effective action and investments in food systems in a way that supports the
achievement of national development plans and the SDGs
also requires leveraging parliaments’ powers
of legislation, budgeting and oversight.
As part of the Summit preparatory process, the UN is encouraging Member States to nominate a
National Dialogue Convenor that will be responsible to engage all relevant stakeholders in devising
pathways for the future of food systems that are rooted in national and local realities.
We would like to request you to reach out to your respective governments and urge them to convene
multi-stakeholder Member State Food Systems Summit Dialogues. We also urge your parliament to
participate in these Dialogues and thereby contribute to shaping a new generation of food system
policies and strategies. For further reference, we are pleased to attach an overview of the UN Food
Systems Summit.
The IPU is fully committed to mobilizing parliaments and, as a contribution to the UN Food Systems
Summit, will convene a high-level parliamentary meeting on 23 June 2021 in which we hope your
parliament will be represented. Further information will be shared in due course.
We count on your support and commitment on this critical opportunity. We invite you to let us know of
any parliamentary actions taken on food systems.
Yours sincerely,
Martin Chungong
Secretary-General
Inter-Parliamentary Union
Agnes Kalibata
Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for
the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit