Brasilia, 4 March 2026 (IICA) – Brazil’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, María Laura da Rocha; the Director of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), Ruy Pereira; the Vice Minister of Agriculture, Cleber Soares; and the President of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), Silvia Massruhá, received in Brasília the Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Muhammad Ibrahim, with whom they agreed to develop a joint bilateral work plan.
The meetings took place at the Itamaraty Palace, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and at Embrapa’s headquarters, where plans were discussed to increase the contributions of the hemispheric organization specialized in agricultural and rural development in the areas of bioinputs, pasture restoration and low-carbon production systems, as well as to collaborate in plant and animal health and in digital technical assistance services.
Plans were also addressed for IICA and Embrapa, a global reference in agricultural research, to establish “a stronger alliance” to meet the demand from Caribbean and Central American countries for Brazilian agricultural cooperation, as defined by Massruhá and IICA’s Director General.
Ibrahim is in Brazil accompanied by IICA’s Representative in the country, Gabriel Delgado; IICA’s Representative in Argentina, Fernando Camargo; and the Director of Projects of the institution of the Inter-American System specialized in agricultural and rural development, Fernando Schwanke.
Brazilian authorities welcomed IICA’s Director General, who assumed office on 15 January, and the head of the specialized international organization indicated that his initial priority is focused on the preparation of the Medium-Term Plan (MTP) 2026–2030, the institutional roadmap for his mandate, which is being developed in consultation with IICA’s Member States in order to guide cooperation efforts toward addressing countries’ priorities.
He also noted that he will continue strengthening IICA’s technical capacity in a firm and purposeful way.
“We intend to strengthen trade issues, water management, pest and disease control — that is, plant and animal health. In this administration, we are working to strengthen IICA’s technical action. And we will present to the ministers the progress of the MTP, which includes a very strong plan in science, technology and innovation”, said Ibrahim, referring to the meeting he will attend in Brasília with the ministers of CAS, the Southern Agricultural Council.
CAS is the ministerial forum for consultation and coordination of regional actions, made up of the Ministers of Agriculture of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, whereby IICA acts as technical and administrative secretariat.
Before the ministers who make up CAS, Ibrahim will present the progress of the MTP, whose preparation has a participatory approach and involves ongoing consultations with Member States.
As part of his intense agenda in Brasília, Ibrahim also met with Carlos Antonio Vieira Fernandes, President of Caixa Econômica Federal (CEF), one of Brazil’s largest state-owned banks. During the meeting, they agreed to initiate a collaboration process between IICA and the financial institution to identify and potentially implement joint projects.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
