CABEI and FAO agree to cooperate on improving the quality of life in the region’s rural areas

Tegucigalpa, June 30, 2016.- Today, the Central American bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a strategic alliance in order to contribute to eradicating hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition and to replace rural poverty with socioeconomic development.

The agreement was signed by CABEI Executive President Dr. Nick Rischbieth and FAO Director General Mr. José Graziano da Silva. It will contribute to national and regional climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts in the agricultural, forestry and fishing sectors.

Dr. Nick Rischbieth emphasized the “…importance of combining FAO’s vast experience in proposal formulation with the high technical value of CABEI’s experience in channeling external funds and developing financial products. By joining forces, the two organizations can support financing for activities that contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the strategies and regional policies of SICA.”

The memorandum of understanding also seeks to promote a framework for further cooperation to improve the quality and impact of technical assistance, pursuant to the respective institutional mandates of the two institutions, in response to the particular needs of the region’s countries regarding cooperation and financing.

CABEI expects to increase its participation in its focus area of Rural Development and the Environment, seeking resources from green funds such as the Adaptation Fund, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), added Dr. Rischbieth.

The first collaboration between CABEI and FAO began in 2015 in order to jointly contribute to the Food Security and Poverty Eradication Plan of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.

In Rome, President Rischbieth participated in a forum called, “The Dry Corridor: Impacts and long term action priorities to increase food security and nutritional resilience.”