France pledges $150 million to U.N.’s IFAD fund for rural areas

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French President Emmanuel Macron visits the construction site of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, which was damaged in a devastating fire, with his wife Brigitte Macron, Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla in Paris, on the second day of their State visit to France, September 21, 2023. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to invest $150 million in the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to fight poverty and climate change in rural areas.

France decided to host and organise the 13th replenishment of IFAD, and was now launching a call for contributions by making the commitment, Macron said in a video message broadcast during a charity concert organized in New York by non-profit group Global Citizen.

IFAD is a Rome-based United Nations agency working to address poverty and hunger in developing countries’ rural areas.

France also committed to give 40 million euros ($43 million) to the U.N.’s global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), during 2023-2026, French Secretary of State for Development and International Partnerships Chrysoula Zacharopoulou said.

($1 = 0.9388 euros)

(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide and Camille Raynaud; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)