Latin American,
Caribbean Countries
Gather On Food Crisis
Representatives of 26
member states of the
Latin American and
Caribbean Economic
System (LAES) convened
here Friday to discuss
how to address the
current food crisis.
LAES President Geronimo
Cardozo addressed the
opening ceremony, saying
it is necessary to find
the root cause of the
current world food
crisis, which has seen
the prices of as many as
32 agricultural products
including rice, wheat
and cereal hiking,
causing the death of
about 25,000 people each
day.
The crisis was caused by
world economic disorder,
Cardozo said.
The LAES president said
the meeting aims to help
Latin American and
Caribbean governments
reach a common position
for the summit of the
Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) to be
held in Rome on June
3-5, with the theme of
"food security, climate
change and bioenergy."
He said during the
upcoming Rome FAO
summit, LAES will
propose to form a
regional alliance to
tackle the world food
crisis.
Since its establishment
33 years ago, LAES has
cooperated with various
governments in solving a
wide range of issues
including energy crisis,
demographic problems and
water shortage, he
added.
The Caracas-based LAES
was established on Oct.
17, 1975 in Panama. As
an intergovernmental
regional organization,
LAES is designed to
promote a consultation
and coordination system
among Latin American and
Caribbean countries.
|
