In meetings with various heads of state, IICA’s Director General promoted the Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas, which will be held this year in Mexico.
Panama City, April 13, 2015 (IICA). Although the Seventh Summit of the Americas, which ended this past weekend in Panama, focused on political dialogues among heads of state, there were opportunities to promote agriculture in our hemisphere and its key role in development.
The Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Víctor M. Villalobos, had brief encounters with Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, the presidents of México, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua, the incoming and outgoing secretaries general of the OAS, and Panamanian agricultural authorities.
Villalobos spoke with presidents Enrique Peña Nieto, of Mexico; Luis Guillermo Solís, of Costa Rica; Salvador Sánchez Cerén, of El Salvador; Otto Pérez Molina, of Guatemala; and Daniel Ortega, of Nicaragua.
Following the 2001 Summit in Quebec, and in response to requests from heads of state and governments, IICA has been functioning as Secretariat for the ministerial meetings on Agriculture and Rural Life at the Summit of the Americas. Its role is to facilitate the meetings of the highest agricultural authorities within the hemisphere, which take place every two years.
While in Panama, Villalobos spoke with the heads of state of the preparations under way for the upcoming ministerial meeting in October. He promoted the participation of President Peña Nieto at the meeting, since the meeting will be held in Cancun and is being organized by the General Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) of Mexico, together with IICA.
The Institute’s Director General also met with the Secretary General elect of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, with whom he spoke about the strengthening of the Inter-American System and the role that IICA plays as the agency specializing in agriculture. He also spoke with the outgoing Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza.
Additionally, the Director General spoke with the president of the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), Enrique García.
Accompanied by his chief of staff, Evangelina Beltrán, and the IICA Representative in Panama, Gerardo Escudero, Villalobos met with the Vice-Minister of Agricultural Development of Panama, Esteban Girón, to discuss the expansion of the strategy being executed in Panama.
As a result of this encounter, it was agreed that IICA will support training in areas such as adaptation of agriculture to climate change and rural inclusion. This support will be provided in person or through distance training programs provided by the Institute.
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