The Washington Agriculture and Forestry Education Foundation (AgForestry) highlighted IICA’s work in the region’s natural systems to guarantee agricultural health and food safety.

Also taking part in the event were Argentina’s Agricultural Attaché to the EU, Gastón Funes, and Chargé d’affaires, Atilio Berardi, along with members of different delegations who perform their duties at the Headquarters of the body responsible for the joint political and economic policies of the European countries.

Vilella said his country intended to ask IICA and the Latin American Bioeconomy Network, which was established in 2023, to help the region focus on the conceptualization of the bioeconomy in response to Brazil’s proposal that the G20 address the issue in 2024.

In the meeting, Özdemir y Otero agreed that, given its presence in the 34 countries of the Americas and its technical cooperation for agriculture and rural development in the hemisphere, IICA should serve as a nexus for joint work between the two regions.

The 68-year-old Vilella was a Professor in the Faculty of Agronomy at the University of Buenos Aires for 48 years, also serving as Dean and occupying several other positions. He used these roles to champion the potential of the bioeconomy for production development.