Meanwhile, after meeting yesterday afternoon, Evangelos Venizelos and Fotis Kouvelis – who lead the two smaller parties in the government – have stated that they will not attend the summit. According to media reports, Kouvelis said the coalition party leaders will go to Brussels to try to win concessions from European partners over a bailout package as soon as Samaras recovers from eye surgery. “We have agreed, as soon as the prime minister has recovered, to go together to Brussels… in order to negotiate and fight for everything that is related to the implementation of what has been agreed,” the Democratic Left leader told reporters, according to Kathimerini.

Meanwhile, Prime minister’s office announced that National Bank of Greece chief Vasilis Rapanos would not be assuming the position of Finance Minister. In a letter to Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, Rapanos has turned down the position of finance minister in the new coalition government, citing health reasons. “The recent incident that led me to being hospitalized indicated that my health problem has not been overcome,” Rapanos said in his letter, ANA writes. “Following discussions that I had with my doctors, I have concluded that the condition of my health, for the time being, is not what it should be in order to fulfil my duties adequately.” Samaras responded by accepting Rapanos’s decision and wishing him a quick recovery.

According to Kathimerini, Samaras is due to meet the leaders of the other two parties in his coalition government later today to discuss who could fill the role of finance minister. Since last night, the names of ND VP and former EU Commissioner Stavros Dimas and Former PASOK Minister Alekos Papadopoulos are under discussion for the job, according to the media.

In a joint statement, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed the priority given to food and nutrition security at the summit.

The three Rome-based agencies also welcomed the continuing recognition by the G20 of the pivotal role of smallholder agriculture to global food security and to boosting productivity in a sustainable manner. “And we urge for food and nutrition security to remain prominent on the G20 agenda in the coming years,” they added.

“Food and nutrition security is a common thread linking the diverse elements needed to build a peaceful, stable and sustainable future. Food and nutrition security must be at the centre of the sustainable development agenda,” the agencies said, noting that they would also jointly take that message to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this week.

The three food and agriculture agencies noted that food security is closely linked to other issues on the agenda of G20 – such as infrastructure development and restoring growth in countries in crisis.

“In the past few years we have seen how food insecurity can trigger instability and crisis, and the major toll that the latter can take on food security in return. We now know that food insecurity can have a long-lasting negative impact on the growth prospects of entire societies,” they said. “This suggests that attention to food security needs to be maintained-perhaps especially so – in times of financial crisis and uncertainty.”

The agencies also pointed out that another lesson from recent crises, such as that affecting the Horn of Africa, is the need to move away from a dichotomy between humanitarian and development assistance. “We are already working in that direction,” the trio said.

In the final point of their joint statement, WFP, IFAD and FAO said that building a sustainable future requires broad partnerships, supporting developing country governments in their leading role and mobilizing around that the commitment of international agencies, civil society, the private sector and the wider humanitarian and development community.

“Ensuring food and nutrition security also demands inclusive partnerships,” the agencies said. “This is something to which we are fully committed in our own work.”