USA – Ecuador, Costa Rica to advance regional cooperation on sustainable food production and digital

WASHINTON, USA – Ambassador Lisa Kubiske, the US senior official for foreign affairs for the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (Americas Partnership), and Dr Jonathan McFadden, research economist at the US Department of Agriculture, will take part in the first Americas Partnership Food Security Conference focused on Global Food Security and the Bioeconomy May 20-21, 2024, in Quito, Ecuador.

Ecuador and Peru lead the Americas Partnership Sustainable Food Production workstream, which also includes participation by the United States, Canada, Barbados, Colombia, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic.

Ecuador’s under secretary Santiago Apunte will welcome officials from partner countries as experts from the Inter-American Development Bank and across the region gather in Quito to discuss how new technologies, climate-smart tools, and bioeconomic approaches can advance efforts to ensure our people have a sufficient supply of sustainably produced food.  The aim of the two-day conference is to establish a regional agenda and concrete projects that help realize our goals of sustainable food production.

Ambassador Kubiske will then travel to Costa Rica May 21-22 to discuss with Costa Rican government officials, industry, and academic institutions how the Americas Partnership can advance digital workforce development in the region. Costa Rica, which leads the Americas Partnership digital workstream, is building a Center of Excellence focused on the digital technology sectors of the future – including semiconductors, cybersecurity, 5G, and artificial intelligence – working with industry and academia to create a pipeline of talent and employment opportunities in these sectors.

The Americas Partnership founding countries are Barbados, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, the United States, and Uruguay.