IICA strengthens its partnership with FLACSO to jointly drive development in the Americas

San Jose, 5 June 2020 (IICA) – The Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Manuel Otero, highlighted the many areas of joint work between the Institute and the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) to transform and drive sustainable development in countries throughout the region.

“We are united by the Sustainable Development Goals, and we serve as platforms that support knowledge management for innovation. On the other hand, FLACSO’s activities in matters related to research, teaching, South-South cooperation, the use of information and communication technologies, technical cooperation and academic outreach are fully aligned with IICA’s strategic statements for the 2018-2022 period”, stated Otero.

Otero made these remarks during FLACSO’s 2020 General Assembly, held both virtually and in person at IICA Headquarters in Costa Rica.

The Director General of IICA also took advantage of the opportunity to reiterate the Institute’s commitment to the Government of Costa Rica, represented at the event by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship, Rodolfo Solano, who presided over FLACSO’s assembly.

“IICA offers hope amidst this pandemic, given that it addresses the issues of food security as well as research and development”, noted the Costa Rican Foreign Minister.

Synergetic work

During the meeting, Costa Rican Josette Altmann was re-elected as Secretary General of FLACSO. She holds a doctoral degree in Humanities from the University of Leiden, Netherlands, and is one of the authors of the book Warriors—Rural Women Around the World, of which IICA has published two editions, and which seeks to raise the voices of and pay tribute to these women, who play a fundamental role in feeding the world.

Otero congratulated Altmann on her re-election and reaffirmed his eagerness to continue working closely with FLACSO, with which the Institute is implementing a project in Brazil related to inclusion policies in rural development areas.

“During these times, now more than ever, it is crucial to continue strengthening our ties of friendship and cooperation in order to provide rapid responses to the member states of our international organizations”, remarked the Director General of IICA.

“Let us continue moving forward on this arduous but fruitful path of cooperation for the benefit of our member countries, as well as undertake efforts to replicate our joint work experiences in other nations”, he added.

More information:

Institutional Communication Division

comunicacion.institucional@iica.int