MEXICO CITY, August 13, 2025 (IICA) – The Caribbean Community’s candidate for Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Muhammad Ibrahim, was received by Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture, Julio Berdegué, with whom he discussed the future agenda of the specialized agency for agricultural and rural development, which will renew its highest authority in November.
“I was pleased to welcome Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim, Guyana’s candidate for the Director General of IICA. We discussed his proposals for strengthening this international organization,” Berdegué said in a message posted on social media.
Ibrahim, an agronomist with more than three decades of experience in executive leadership and international management, was nominated for the position of Director General of IICA by the President of Guyana, Mohammed Irfaan Ali, and his candidacy has already received the unanimous support of the 14 member countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which are also part of IICA.
“We discussed with Secretary Berdegué Mexico’s priorities for a technical cooperation agenda that will address the needs of the country and the region through IICA. Animal and plant health, with an emphasis on combating the cattle gut worm (GBG), and the need for innovation to modernize the agricultural sector were the main points of the dialogue,” explained Ibrahim.
In Mexico City, the candidate for Guyana and the Caribbean also visited the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was received by the Under-Secretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, Enrique Ochoa Martínez, and by Daniel Cámara, Director General for American Regional Organizations and Mechanisms.
“I discussed my candidacy for the Director General of IICA, which is supported by all the countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and many other nations on the continent,” said Ibrahim.
In November, the ministers of agriculture of the Americas will elect the replacement for Argentine veterinarian Manuel Otero as the new Director General of IICA. In addition to the candidate from Guyana and CARICOM, the Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock of Honduras, Laura Suazo, and former Uruguayan Minister Fernando Mattos are also running for the position.
