UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that the international task force on the global food crisis will convene its first meeting in New York next Monday.
Speaking to reporters at the UN Headquarters, Ban said he will get the task force "moving at full speed," since an urgent response is required for the worldwide emergency.
"If not properly handled, this crisis could cascade into multiple crises affecting trade, development and even social and political security around the world," Ban said.
"The livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people are threatened," he said.
Last week, Ban announced a new international task force which will prepare a plan of action to tackle the global rise in food prices. The group brings together the heads of key UN agencies, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Ban, who has just returned from official visits to West Africa and Europe, said the international community has made promising steps in recent days to address emergency needs, but added that the longer-term challenge was "to boost agricultural development, particularly in Africa and other regions most affected."
He said the task force will study the root causes of the crisis and propose solutions to be executed decisively through coordinated global action at the upcoming food summit in Rome early in June.
The secretary-general said he is about to send out invitations to all heads of state and government to attend the Rome summit, "to work out the strategies to address and overcome this crisis."
He called on world leaders to join him Rome. "Please come with fresh ideas. It is time for real commitment and real action," he said.
Source:Xinhua
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