The meeting focused on the institutional cooperation in issues of development and enviroment in the Americas.
San José, 24 February, 2018 (IICA). The Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Manuel Otero, met today with the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, during his first official activity in Washington, which forms part of a tour that includes meetings in Ottawa, Canada, and will continue next week in Mexico.
“It was an excellent meeting, during which we identified topics of mutual interest for working on a common agenda” stated Otero following his meeting with the head of the OAS.
“Joint collaborative efforts and reciprocal support for the initiatives of both IICA and the OAS – that was our focus – communion of interests, joint work and complementarity, as well as mutual collaboration in upcoming meetings, for example, with respect to sustainable development and protection of the environment”, added Otero, who was invited by the Secretary General to present the next annual report of IICA to the Permanent Council of the OAS, at its headquarters in Washington.
Almagro, for his part, stated that the meeting with the IICA Director General focused “on dialogue with respect to institutional cooperation in topics relating to development and the environment in the Americas”.
The Director General of IICA commenced on Thursday, in Ottawa, his first tour since taking up office in January as head of this organization that promotes agricultural development in the Americas. This round of visits includes meetings with ministers and high-level government officials in Canada, the United States of America and Mexico, with representatives of multilateral credit institutions, environmental bodies and research centers, as well as with private companies.
In Ottawa, the Director General met with the Vice-Minister of Agriculture of Canada, Chris Forbes, and with officials from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), as well as with the International Agency for Sustainable Development (IISD). Concrete results were achieved in the meetings towards identifying cooperation projects between IICA and Canada that will primarily benefit Haiti and other Caribbean and Central American countries.
In Washington, Otero will engage in discussions with senior officials at the Secretariat of Agriculture and the State Department. He will meet with the International Financial Corporation (IFC), an agency of the World Bank devoted to private sector development; with the new Ambassador of Argentina in Washington, Fernando Oris de Roa; and with officials at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank. He is also due to meet with the head of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa F. Etienne.
In Mexico City, where his work agenda will commence on March 1, Otero will be received by the Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food, José Eduardo Calzada Rovirosa, and will hold meetings with the most senior officials of the National Service for Agricultural Health, Safety and Quality (Senasica), among other activities.
From Mexico, Otero will continue on to Jamaica, where he will participate, from 5 March, in the 35th Regional Conference of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
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José Alfredo Alpízar
