The 45th session of the International Grains Council (IGC) was held, in London, on Monday 05 June 2017, with the active participation of 54 Member States, including the 27 countries of the European Union.
The International Grains Council is the intergovernmental body responsible for the implementation of the 1995 Grains Trade Convention and the 1995 Food Aid Convention. IGC represents an independent source of information and analysis on the international market for grains, rice and oilseeds. It facilitates the follow-up of national grains policies and a greater collaboration between Governments and the private sector.
Côte d’Ivoire was pleased to chair the meetings of IGC, namely through M. Aly Touré, Permanent Representative to International Commodity Organisations. At the end of this last meeting for the year 2016/17, the Council approved a shortlist of 10 candidates for the recruitment of a new Executive Director to replace Dr. Etsuo Kitahara, from Japan. Moreover, the Council endorsed a proposal to increase the collaboration between the International Grains Council (IGC) and the International Grains Trade Coalition (IGTC).
Finally, Côte d’Ivoire was accepted as a member of the IGC administrative committee for the year 2017/2018, to replace Kenya. Hence, our country will represent subsaharan Africa in this committee made up of 16 member countries, including the ten biggest importers or exporters of grains.
On the back of these achievements, Mr. Aly Touré passed on the baton to Mrs Silke Boger, Representative of the European Commission, who will chair the International Grains Council from 01 July 2017.