Mr. Chairman of the Permanent Council, Ambassador Rodolfo Gil of the Republic of Argentina,
Your Excellency Bernardo López Figueroa, Minister of Agriculture of Guatemala and Chairman of the Inter-American Board of Agriculture,
Dr Chelston Brathwaite, Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture,
Distinguished Permanent Representatives,
Distinguished Permanent Observers,
Distinguished Delegates,
Representatives of international and regional organizations,
Ladies and Gentlemen,


This Special Session of the Permanent Council has been convened to celebrate the 65th Anniversary of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture and I am honoured to offer brief opening remarks.

In paying tribute to IICA’s 65 years of service to agriculture in the Hemisphere, I wish to reiterate the importance we at the OAS attach to the Institute, as the main inter-American vehicle to expand the productive capacity of the agricultural sector and to improve rural life.

It will be recalled that in March 2006, IICA’s Director General, Dr. Chelston Brathwaite, presented the Institute’s Annual Report to the Permanent Council, as an initiative to inform the Permanent Council of IICA’s activities in the Hemisphere and in the context of the deepened OAS-IICA collaboration of the last few years.

It will also be recalled that the Permanent Representative of Panama to the OAS, Ambassador Aristides Royo, had requested at the time that IICA return to the OAS to present a more detailed account of the work of the Institute in the Hemisphere.

The Permanent Council will recall that the strategic vision of IICA, as presented by Dr. Brathwaite, is based on:

• Developing and promoting the use of bio-technology;
• Fostering agro-industrial and agro-tourism linkages;
• Modernising agricultural practices; and
• Supporting at the macro and micro levels, strategies and implementation policies for boosting agricultural productivity and trade competitiveness, ensuring food security, alleviating poverty and enhancing rural life.

As is well known, Dr. Brathwaite took over the leadership of IICA in 2002. His tenure since then has been distinguished by a process of modernization at the Institute, which has enabled it to lead the way in the provision of technical cooperation in the rapidly transforming agricultural sector across the Hemisphere and thereby, to be a key institutional partner in the Inter-American System and the Summit of the Americas process.

The OAS has been pleased to work with IICA towards a hemispheric partnership for rural development which focuses on adding value to traditional agricultural pursuits to support economic progress and sustainable development.

In my view, strategic investments and innovations in the agricultural sector are an integral component of a new paradigm for the Americas which emphasizes a holistic approach to development - one that focuses strongly on fostering and strengthening human capacity; one that takes account of the social realities and vulnerabilities of the countries of the Western Hemisphere; and one that addresses inequalities in terms of opportunity, access and income in our societies, especially with regard to women, indigenous peoples, and youth.

I believe that by reviving rural life, particularly by engaging the youth, IICA, in partnership with the OAS, can help in a meaningful way not only to increase the productive capacity for domestic food security, as well as for exports and foreign currency earnings, but also contribute to peace and stability in the region.

IICA Day 2007 is particularly special because of the celebration of the Institute’s 65th anniversary. This year’s theme, “Realizing the Inter-American Dream of 1942”, is indeed appropriate. We look forward to the presentations which will give us an opportunity to learn more about IICA’s accomplishments over the last 65 years and, perhaps more importantly, to hear about the way forward.

Allow me, in closing, to express my satisfaction with the ongoing deepening of OAS-IICA collaboration, as signified by the signing of a cooperation agreement last year.

Additionally, IICA Day has become firmly institutionalised in the OAS calendar and we continue to work together towards advancing a hemispheric development agenda that takes into consideration the needs of the countries and peoples of the Americas, and with particular attention to the unique needs of smaller economies.

Most recently, in early August, the OAS, IICA, CARICOM and the IDB collaborated on a ground-breaking High Level Seminar on Expanding Bio-energy Opportunities in the Caribbean, held in Georgetown, Guyana. I am also pleased to note that last week IICA joined with the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) to hold in El Salvador, the Second Latin American and Caribbean Seminar on Bio-fuels.

I am of the particular belief that the field of bio-energy and bio-fuels offers exciting possibilities for further collaboration between our two institutions, in the context of the 2007 Declaration of Panama on Energy for Sustainable Development and particularly since this is an important growth sector in Central America, the Caribbean and other Member States.

As the relationship between the OAS and IICA continues to grow, I offer sincere and heartfelt congratulations to IICA on this landmark anniversary and look forward to deeper and broader cooperation with Dr. Brathwaite and his highly capable and dedicated team.

Thank you.