The European Commission (EC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations have agreed on a strategic partnership to reduce poverty in developing countries.

The partnership aims to help these countries reduce poverty and achieve the UN's Millennium Development Goal, said a press release from the EC, the executive body of the European Union, on Monday.

The Millennium Development Goal calls for substantial improvements by 2015 compared with 1990 in poverty and hunger reduction, primary education, women's equality, child mortality, maternal health, disease control, environmental protection and a global partnership for development.

"The strategic partnership we have signed today will further consolidate this long and well-established mutual cooperation and reinforce the quality of our collaboration in the pursuit of a common goal," said European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Poul Nielson.

FAO director-general Jacques Diouf said that by working together the two organizations can address the challenge of reducing chronic hunger and under-nourishment that currently afflict more than 840 million people in the world.

Specific attention will initially focus on fostering close collaboration in five specific areas: food security, sustainable rural development and agricultural policies, food safety and quality, natural resources management and statistical cooperation and information exchange, the EC press release said.

Cooperation between the EC and the FAO dates back to 1991 so far resulting in the implementation of 116 projects with a budget of approximately 108 million euros (US$129.6 million).

Most of the projects have provided technical assistance to developing countries in the field of food security, agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

(Xinhua News Agency September 14, 2004)