MEXICO and Paraguay, two countries with governments of different political leanings but with significant agricultural development policies in common, officially announced their decision to support Guyana’s candidacy for the position of Director-General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

The support of these two countries for the candidacy of local Agricultural Engineer Muhammad Ibrahim for Director-General of IICA joins that of 13 other leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) who have expressed theirs for the candidate presented by Guyana’s re-elected President, Dr. Mohammed Irfaan Ali and his Minister of Agriculture, Mustapha Zulfikar.

With the backing of Mexico and Paraguay, in addition to the 14 CARICOM countries that are also members of IICA, Guyana is on the verge of obtaining the votes needed to win the election.

The heads of government of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago announced in July their support for Guyana to lead the specialised agency for agricultural and rural development during the 2026-2030 period.

Mexico’s support for Ibrahim, meanwhile, was announced in a letter addressed to Guyana’s Ministry of International Affairs and International Cooperation.

Mexico’s note was followed by another from the Paraguayan Foreign Ministry, signed by that country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Rubén Ramírez, who, on October 1, stated, “Considering the extensive experience and training of the Guyanese candidate, and the excellent bilateral relations,” the Paraguayan government “will support the candidacy proposed by His Excellency, President Ali, for the position of Director- General of IICA.”

Ramírez’s note was addressed to Hugh Hilton Todd, Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

During the recent celebration of Caribbean Agriculture Week, held in Saint Kitts and Nevis and attended by representatives from countries in the region and foreign delegations, Guyana’s candidate for IICA met with ministers from a dozen countries, all of whom expressed their full support for him to become the next Director-General of IICA.

Ibrahim also met with a delegation of senior Argentinian government officials who were present at the meeting. Argentina has a long history of agricultural cooperation with the Caribbean.

Ibrahim faces candidates proposed by Honduras and Uruguay, Laura Suazo and Fernando Mattos, respectively, both of whom are agricultural engineers.

IICA, a key agency for agricultural policies and animal and plant health in the Americas, is currently headed by Argentine veterinarian Manuel Otero, who is completing his second term as Director-General.

The election of his replacement will take place on November 4, when the ministers of agriculture of the countries of the Americas meet in Brasilia.

The nations of the Caribbean Community unanimously endorsed Guyana’s candidacy at the last meeting of their heads of government, held in July in Montego Bay, Jamaica.