. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/AG/GEN/89 
27 November 2009 
 
 (09-6005) 
Committee on Agriculture Original:   Spanish 
  
 
REQUEST FOR OBSERVER STATUS BY THE INTER-AMERICAN INSTITUTE 
FOR COOPERATION ON AGRICULTURAL 
 
  A request for ad hoc observer status in the Committee on Agriculture was received on 
27 October 2009 from the Inter-Ameri can Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).  The text 
of the request is reproduced below.  
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1. The IICA is a specialized agency of the OAS activ e in the agricultural area.  Its mission is to 
promote prosperity in the rural communities of the Americas. 
2. One of the constant priorities of the IICA as part of the Inter-American System has been 
agricultural policy and negotiations, and trade in  agricultural products.  Since the GATT Uruguay 
Round and the inclusion of agriculture in the multila teral trade negotiations, the IICA has adapted its 
cooperation activities to the new realities affecti ng the agricultural sector, and has analysed their 
impact on the agrifood sector from the political standpoint. 
3. The subject took on a new dimension with the launching of the Doha Round, and became a 
priority for the IICA in view of its institutiona l commitment to support competitive and sustainable 
development of agriculture and the rural environmen t.  Accordingly, we have developed cooperation 
activities in relation to agricultural policy and ne gotiations on a hemispheri c, regional and national 
scale, many of them in partnership with other international agencies. 
4. The IICA has contributed to building the professi onal and institutional capacity of its member 
countries to participate in agricultural negotiations  and to develop policies to help them face the 
challenges involved in the agreements concluded a nd to take advantage of the opportunities offered 
by them.  Alongside its technical cooperation activ ities, the Institute also produced analytical 
documentation and information ne tworks on regional integrati on and negotiations;  introduced 
regional consultation and coordination mechan isms;  provided guidance and training to 
several thousand public officials and private sector sp ecialists from throughout the continent;  and set 
up or developed offices specialized in trade polic y and agricultural negotiations in many of the 
region's ministries of agriculture. 
5. In the past years, the IICA has built up a direct  relationship with the WTO, and in particular 
with the Institute for Technical Training and Co operation (ITTC) and the Committee on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures.  It has taken part and c ooperated actively in many of the training activities 
organized jointly with the ITTC, and in the agricultu ral health and food safety area, it has participated 
as an observer in the meetings of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and has 
conducted joint training activities on the American continent. 
6. For the above reasons, and with a view to bui lding up and improving its technical cooperation 
activities in the areas of trade a nd agricultural trade negotiations with the 34 IICA member countries G/AG/GEN/89 
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  of the American continent that are also WTO Members, and to d eepen the IICA's cooperative links 
with the WTO, we hereby request that you consider granting us ad hoc observer status in the regular 
meetings of the Committee on Agriculture. 
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