DIRECTOR GENERAL of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Dr. Víctor Villalobos, will begin a four-day visit to Guyana today. This is his first official visit here since his appointment in January last. The visit will present an excellent opportunity for Dr Villalobos to obtain a first-hand perspective of IICA’s activities in the Caribbean in general, and those in Guyana in particular, as well as discuss ways to enhance IICA’s Technical Cooperation Agenda for the Caribbean Region.
Dr Villalobos will be accompanied on the visit by Deputy Director General, Mrs. Karen Lezny; Director of Regional Management and Integration, Mr. Victor del Angel; and Mr. James French, Director of Technical Cooperation. He will address the Institutional Planning and Management meeting of IICA’s Caribbean Offices.
Venue for the meeting is the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC), Liliendaal.
The forum is an essential component in the formulation of a new Agricultural Development Strategy for the Caribbean, bearing in mind the uniqueness of the Caribbean Region within the Institute’s Hemispheric Programme, consistent with the Medium Term Plan (MTP) approved by the Hemispheric Ministerial Meeting in Jamaica, in October, 2009.
While here, the IICA Director General is also expected to meet with President Bharrat Jagdeo; Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett; and  CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr. Edwin Carrington.
New Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Dr. Víctor Villalobos.