The Agricultural Cooperative Federation announced on the 20th that Lee Sung-hee (pictured), president of the National Agricultural Cooperatives, succeeded in reappointing the president of the International Cooperative Agricultural Organization (ICAO). ICAO is an agricultural sub-organization under the International Co-operative Federation (ICA) and currently has 42 organizations in 35 countries as members.
At the ICAO general meeting held in Seville, Spain, on the 17th, Lee was elected as ICAO president for a four-year term, defeating Sanghani, the president of the Indian Fertilizer Cooperative (IFFCO). The Agricultural Cooperatives of Korea have been in charge of the ICAO president’s agency since 1998 in the form of sole appointment. The president’s body was elected for the first time this year, and Lee was elected.
According to the Agricultural Cooperatives, Chairman Lee won the support of its members by promising △Invitational training for cooperatives in developing countries and providing opportunities to dispatch employees to the ICAO Seoul Secretariat △Support for excellent students from developing countries to study at Nonghyup University △Building an ICAO digital platform.
At the ICA General Assembly held on the 20th, Chairman Lee was also elected as a director with the qualifications of ‘Agricultural and Fishery Industry Subcommittee’. During the four-year term of the director, he plans to work on behalf of the agricultural community on international issues such as sustainable development of agriculture, forestry and fisheries through cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and climate change.
After joining the ICA as an associate member in 1963, the NACF has strengthened its role by acquiring full membership in 1972. Chairman Lee said, “We will share the experience and vision of the Korean Agricultural Cooperatives, which has grown into one of the world’s top 10 global cooperatives over the past 60 years, with cooperatives around the world.”
Reporter Hwang Jung-hwan jung@hankyung.com
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