IICA to moderate an international panel discussion to encourage trade synergies between Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean

Geneva, 14 October, 2019 (IICA). The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) will head a panel of international leaders who will discuss synergies to encourage public investment for sustainability and the new generations in agricultural trade in the developing countries of the Americas and Africa.

The panel discussion—“Agriculture and Trade – Adapting to a Changing World: Exploring Synergies between Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean”—has been organized as part of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Public Forum, which is the organization’s most important annual outreach event. This year the theme is Trading Forward: Adapting to a Changing World”.

The discussion will take place on 11 October, with the primary objective of strengthening international strategic partnerships and getting the perspective of each of the countries.

Adriana Campos Azofeifa, Manager of IICA’s International Trade and Regional Integration Program explained that, “IICA is also trying to highlight its role as an agricultural technical cooperation agency and knowledge manager, with a network of recognized partners, and which is open to building synergies with partners in the Americas, Europe and other continents, such as Africa.

Joining Adriana Campos Azofeifa on the panel will be Anabel González, a Permanent Consultant to IICA’s International Trade and Regional Integration Program; Olivier Marty, of the International Trade Center; Flavio Bettarello, Secretary of Trade of Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, and David Laborde, of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 

The Public Forum is the most important annual outreach event of the WTO. Over the years it has evolved into a unique forum that brings together Heads of State, parliamentarians, representatives of leading companies at the global level, students, academics, and non-governmental organizations to debate WTO issues and some of today’s major trade- and development-related issues.

Each year the Forum attracts more than 1,500 participants, and this year, it will be held on October 8 -11.