ROME, Oct. 15 -- Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Wednesday that his country will donate 50 million U.S. dollars in the next five years to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Li announced the decision in a speech at the FAO headquarters in Rome during a visit to the UN organ on the eve of World Food Day, which falls on October 16 every year.

The new fund from the Chinese government, said the premier, will be used to promote South-South cooperation.

As the biggest developing country in the world, China will always be an active force in maintaining food security, and is ready to work with other countries to create a hunger-free and poverty-free world with sustained development, he added.

FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva thanked the Chinese government for its additional contribution to South-South cooperation, which is aimed mainly at improving world food security.

It is widely recognized that China's achievements in food security and poverty reduction have made huge contribution to this global cause.