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Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) David Beasley (L), Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed (C) and Ciaran Cannon, Irish minister of state for the diaspora and international development, attend a signing ceremony in Dublin, Ireland, Dec. 5, 2018. Ireland on Wednesday pledged 70 million euros (about 79 million U.S. dollars) in funding to the WFP in the next three years. (Xinhua)

DUBLIN, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Ireland on Wednesday pledged 70 million euros (about 79 million U.S. dollars) in funding to the World Food Programme (WFP) in the next three years.

The pledge was announced on a signing ceremony of a strategic partnership agreement between the Irish government and the WFP here.

According to the agreement, the first tranche of 15 million euros of the funding will be made to the WFP by the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) in the coming weeks.

Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, and Executive Director of the WFP David Beasley attended the ceremony at the DAFM headquarters.

The funding pledged in the agreement for the period 2019-2021 represents a 16 percent increase over the last partnership agreement, said Creed, adding that this has confirmed Ireland's commitment to fighting world hunger in conjunction with the WFP.

He said that Ireland has a seat on the Executive Board of the WFP until the end of 2019 and it appreciates the work of the WFP in contributing to the sustainable development goal of zero hunger in the world.

Beasley, on behalf of the WFP, expressed thanks for the generous contribution made by the government and the people of Ireland. The contribution made by Ireland is "truly saving lives and changing lives", he said.

Wednesday's agreement is the third such three-year agreement signed between Ireland and the WFP, according to the DAFM. (1 euro= 1.13 U.S. dollars)?