ForumforAg Food Systems Podcast Summary

Viorel Gutu

Viorel Gutu has 30 years of experience in agricultural development, enterprise restructuring, structural reforms and private business...see more development through his involvement in the public and private sector and his implementation of international projects.

A national of the Republic of Moldova, Viorel Gutu was appointed to the post of FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia in February 2024. Prior to that he served as FAO Subregional Coordinator for Central Asia and Representative for Türkiye and Uzbekistan.

He joined FAO in 2014 as the head of the FAO Tajikistan office, leading the Country Office in establishing productive relations with the national government and key donors.

Before joining FAO, Gutu was Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry in the Republic of Moldova. In this position, he was responsible for the coordination, monitoring and evaluation of strategic policy implementation in agriculture and rural development. He also served as an economic affairs officer with the United Nations Transitional Administration in Timor-Leste, where he dealt with peacekeeping operations, poverty alleviation and the prevention of emergency situations. He holds a doctoral degree in economics.