XXIII MEETING OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION DIRECTORS TO DEAL WITH FOOD SECURITY

Caracas, August 29- The “XXIII Meeting of International Cooperation Directors for Latin America and the Caribbean”, whose central topic will be “Regional Cooperation in the area of Food Security,” will be held on 1 and 2 October 2012 in Belize City. This regional event is being organized by the Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), with the support of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund (PGTF) of the Group of 77 (G-77) and the Government of Belize, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The objectives of this regional meeting are to identify actions and initiatives for better coordination and synergy among the various cooperation actors at regional and subregional levels, in relation to food security; and to analyze, organize and update available information on cooperation programmes, projects and actions related to food security that have been undertaken by the various regional and subregional integration and cooperation schemes in Latin America and the Caribbean, in order to identify their weaknesses and strengths, and support inter-institutional coordination.

The meeting is also intended to promote the identification of bilateral and multilateral cooperation sources for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as cooperation opportunities that can be exploited within the region to support food security; and to identify policy proposals and recommendations for strengthening international cooperation, South-South Cooperation and Triangular Cooperation in the area of food security.

The event will be attended by representatives of the international cooperation directions and agencies of the Member States of SELA, officials from bilateral and multilateral development agencies and regional, subregional and international organizations, as well as specialists and academicians from the region.

The Meetings of International Cooperation Directors for Latin America and the Caribbean allow for gathering decision makers in the area of cooperation at the regional level, and have served to share many successful experiences and best practices. This forum was first organized by SELA in 1987 and since then it has been conducted on a yearly basis.

The XXIII Meeting of International Cooperation Directors for Latin America and the Caribbean will provide an opportunity for decision makers to submit their various programmes and initiatives and to make recommendations that can serve as guidelines for formulating public policies at the national level in each one of the 28 Member States of SELA.

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