The Secretary General of the Ibero-American Summit Process, Uruguayan Enrique Iglesias, and the Director General of IICA, Mexican Víctor M. Villalobos, have just signed a general agreement in Madrid that paves the way for innovative Ibero-American and inter-American cooperation that will boost mutual understanding and joint work in the field of agriculture and rural life.

Iglesias - President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for almost 17 years - is the highest executive officer of the Ibero-American Summit process, while Villalobos took over as the head of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture at the beginning of this year. IICA’s mandates include providing follow-up to agriculture and rural life within the framework of the Summit of the Americas process.

Karen M. Lezny, an expert in the field of international negotiations, yesterday took up her post as the Deputy Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

IICA, headquartered in Costa Rica, specializes in agriculture and rural well-being and has 34 Member States. The current Director General of the Institute is Victor M. Villalobos, from Mexico.