The first Expoferia AgroAlba will open its doors today in Venezuela for two days with the presence of ALBA-TCP member states, invited countries, investors and businessmen from the region and the world.
This meeting was proposed by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during the 24th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People’s Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP), held in December in Caracas.
As a fundamental objective, it will seek to implement actions to take advantage of the potential of Venezuela and the rest of the countries of the Latin American and Caribbean integration bloc, in order to achieve sovereignty in food production.
In his account on the social network Telegram, the Bolivarian foreign minister, Yván Gil, stated that the «integration we are promoting seeks to highlight and recognise the agro-ecological capacities of each nation, thus strengthening our resilience in the face of tariff wars and unilateral coercive measures».
In addition to the 10 member nations of the Alliance, «its allies from Europe, Africa and Latin America will be present at this first meeting, in terms of sovereignty and food production,» he said.
At a press conference last Tuesday to present the Expoferia AgroAlba, the Venezuelan diplomat stressed that it had begun with strength, and beyond, to «produce, invest and generate a shield of security and food sovereignty in the ALBA-TCP, the Caribbean and the Latin American region».
To date, nations such as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, and – for Africa – Sao Tome and Principe, have signed with Venezuela their incorporation into this initiative, which lays the foundations for inclusive and sustainable economic development for the benefit of the entire region, according to the authorities.
Gil acknowledged that ALBA-TCP countries such as Bolivia, Nicaragua and the Caribbean islands have «important capacities» not only in terms of productive infrastructure, but also in terms of personnel, knowledge training and science and technology, which are made available for food production.
«We are going to turn this integration mechanism into a powerful scheme for the production of food and other non-food items such as textiles,» he said.
In May, Venezuelan Minister for Agriculture and Land Julio León declared that AgroAlba constitutes «a unique opportunity to join forces and consolidate an efficient and sustainable production model».
As part of the two-day agenda, there will be explanatory meetings and meetings of ministers from various production portfolios, announced the executive secretary of ALBA-TCP, Jorge Arreaza, who stressed to the press the «extraordinary potential» of its member states.
