NEW ORLEANS -- The director general of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, Carlos E. Aquino, and the manager of the Sustainable Development Department of the Inter-American Development Bank, Waldemar Wirsig, today signed a six-point agreement to cooperate in carrying out rural development activities and policies.
The agreement will provide the foundation for implementing the Agreement on the Establishment of the Inter-Agency Group on Rural Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, signed on March 24, 2000, in New Orleans. The Agreement comprises the IICA, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean the International Fund for Agriculture Development, the German Technical Cooperation, and the IDB.
The agreement signed today says the IICA and the IDB will work to:
- Strengthen the channels for cooperation and exchange of information between different technical and operating units.
- Promote a regional initiative in the field of technology innovation.
- Collaborate jointly with at least two countries in Central America and the Caribbean in the preparation of national strategies aimed at developing the rural economy and alleviating poverty.
- Organize the second Ibero-American meeting on rural development in Madrid, Spain, in a joint action involving the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Spain, the IDB, and the IICA, as well as a meeting, with participation of the members of the Inter-Agency Group, to discuss successful European experiences in rural development that could be adapted to conditions in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Intensify joint activities in the areas of gender and rural women.
- Continue joint efforts aimed at promoting youth in development and youth leadership.