It is becoming increasingly likely that Pakistan will become the 19th member of the IOC. A delegation of senior officials and directors from the Pakistani Government visited IOC headquarters in Madrid today. They were welcomed by the Executive Director Abdellatif Ghedira, who was accompanied by his two Deputy Executive Directors, Jaime Lillo and Mustafa Sepetçi, and the heads of the different Operational Units: Standardisation and Research; Economics, Statistics and Promotion; Technical, Training and Environment; External Relations; Observatory and Information Systems; and the Director’s Secretariat.
Today’s meeting was an opportunity to revisit the stages of this collaboration which began last year, with a first visit in March 2021 followed by a webinar between the two parties on 27 May. The rapprochement continued in November with a visit to the country, at the invitation of the Pakistani authorities and private sector. The Executive Director and the Head of the External Relations Department, Mounir Fourati, were welcomed by H.E. the Federal Minister of Agriculture at his residence.
Today’s meeting provided an opportunity to brief stakeholders in the Pakistani administration on how to join the IOC and the benefits and advantages of IOC membership in terms of access to expertise and technical assistance, standardisation, subsidies and promotional programmes to support its olive sector.
Everything seems to be leaning towards a new and important accession to the International Agreement on Olive Oil and Table Olives 2015, which could be formalised this year in accordance with the procedures of the Agreement, whose depositary is the United Nations office.
More information on Pakistan and the IOC can be found in the articles below:
- https://www.internationaloliveoil.org/pakistan-moves-closer-to-the-ioc/
- https://www.internationaloliveoil.org/pakistani-research-pushes-for-ioc-membership/
- https://www.internationaloliveoil.org/first-results-of-the-ioc-mission-to-pakistan/
- https://www.internationaloliveoil.org/mission-of-the-executive-director-to-pakistan/
- https://www.internationaloliveoil.org/ioc-mission-in-pakistan/
- https://www.internationaloliveoil.org/positive-outcome-of-ioc-mission-to-pakistan/
- https://www.internationaloliveoil.org/visit-of-the-ambassador-of-pakistan-to-the-headquarters-of-the-international-olive-council/
List of the Pakistani delegation : List of Pakistani Delegation to IOC on 08-02-2022