SUMMIT OF MINISTERS OF AGRICULTURE
FROM LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
WILL CONVENE IN GUATEMALA
BETWEEN 26 AND 30 APRIL

Guatemala City, 20 April.- The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) will celebrate its 28th Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean in Guatemala City between 26 and 30 April 2004.

Ministers of Agriculture and other high officials of 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean will attend the meeting. This is the first time this event is held in Guatemala.

The Plenary Session of the Conference will be officially inaugurated at the Hotel Guatemala City Marriott, on Wednesday 28 April at 9:00 hours, by the President of the Republic of Guatemala, Oscar Rafael Berger and the Director-General of FAO, Jacques Diouf. The Plenary Session will be preceded by two days of working sessions of the Conference's Technical Committee.

The Technical Committee will meet during 26 and 27 April and will debate the following subjects:
- Promotion of Food Security as Strategy for Rural Development;
- Economic and Social Development as the Basis for FAO Actions in Latin America and the Caribbean;
- Celebration of the International Year of Rice; and
- FAO Strategic Framework for Bridging the Rural Digital Divide.

FAO Director-General, Dr. Jacques Diouf, will deliver an important speech before Ministers and Heads of Delegation at 11:30 hours on Wednesday 28 April.

The Plenary Session, to continue until Friday 30 April, will include a presentation by Mr. Gustavo Gordillo de Anda, Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, of the report on FAO Activities (2002-2003). Mr. Gordillo will also refer to Trends and Challenges in Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Food Security in the Region.

Follow up to the results of the "World Food Summit - five years later" -an important meeting held in Rome in June 2002 and which reaffirmed the goal of reducing in half the 800 million people suffering from hunger in the world, 54 million of which are from the Region- will also be discussed. Actions by FAO to fight hunger will be addressed as well as an initiative to review and update national policies and strategies for agriculture, rural development and food security.

On Thursday 29 April, the Conference will concentrate its work on a Round Table that will draw together the Ministers of Agriculture with the Ministers and national officials responsible for the economic area of the Region to debate on investments and development opportunities in the agricultural sector.

The Regional Conference will finalise its debates on Friday 30 April with the adoption of the final Report.

During the days preceding the 28th FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Third Regional Consultation of Non-Governmental and Civil Society Organisations (NGO/CSO) will be held. The Consultation has the double purpose of convening the various agents of civil society around the subject of food sovereignty and security and of following up on the "World Food Summit - five years later". The Consultation will finalise with the adoption of a Declaration and Plan of Action to be presented before the Summit of Ministers of Agriculture from FAO Member Nations of the Region.

Sessions of the Third Consultation will take place on 23-25 April at the Hotel Conquistador Ramada, in Guatemala City.