Cuba Assumes Presidency of Grulac at the UN in Rome

The also permanent representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Food Program (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), reaffirmed its country's commitment to unity and regional integration.

The diplomat, who will share the task of directing Grulac in the second half of 2022 with the representatives of Nicaragua and Panama in the vice presidencies, also emphasized the will of her government to "defend and advance common interests and positions."

During the event in which Granda was elected, the members of that group recognized the excellent work of the Panamanian representative to the FAO, Tomas Duncan, as outgoing president of Grulac in Rome, during the first semester of this year.

In a statement to Prensa Latina, Duncan said that in the exercise of that position he faced the challenge of finding a common regional definition, to take it to the different negotiating committees of FAO, WFP, and IFAD.

The new president "must continue to strengthen that regional union to be able to reach those forums with clear positions," he said, adding that "I am sure that Cuba will consolidate that line, because a common position, as a region, strengthens us”.

On his behalf, the Brazilian representative, Fernando Marroni, said that in the Grulac before the United Nations in Rome "we have many interests in common, as well as a great capacity for coordination and joint action that amplifies our potential for negotiating with other regions"

Marroni expressed his confidence that the new Grulac board of directors, led by the Cuban ambassador will do a very good job in favor of the unity of the group.

“This is something particularly important in the FAO, the WFP and the IFAD, where issues of nutrition, food security, and the negotiation of norms and principles that will guide the production and trade of food in the world in the future," he stressed.