REPRESENTATIVES OF THE IOC’S MEMBER STATES GATHER TO WELCOME NEW MEMBERS AND DISCUSS UPDATES FOR THE YEAR
The IOC convened the 119th plenary session of its Council of Members on Tuesday, June 25 at the headquarters in Madrid. It brought together delegations from most of the organization’s 20 Member States, who represent around 94% of the world’s producing countries of olive oil and table olives.
The representatives and the IOC’s Executive Secretariat met to welcome the countries that have most recently acceded to the International Agreement on Olive Oil and Table Olives, 2015, namely the Republic of Azerbaijan and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They also welcomed the Republic of San Marino’s participation as an observer following their official request to join the IOC. Among the topics of discussion at the plenary were also the IOC’s progress in 2024, upcoming projects, as well as current challenges and opportunities for the global olive sector. Climate change, which poses a particular hurdle for the olive sector, is being addressed by the IOC through a variety of actions, including knowledge transfer activities, expert missions, the “Dialogues for the Future” initiative, inter alia, falling under the IOC’s motto “Olive oil is good for your health and for the planet”. The assembly concluded with the flag rising ceremony to honor the Republic of Azerbaijan’s adherence to the Agreement and the country’s incorporation to the IOC family.
The session counted on the online presence of the Minister for Agriculture of Jordan and on a pre-recorded video from the Spanish Minister for Agriculture. The IOC welcomed the in-person participation of the Ambassadors to Spain of Argelia, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Tunisia and Uruguay, and other key authorities, including the Chair of the Council of Members, currently held by Iran, and the Chair of the Advisory Committee, now held by Tunisia. Also present were Heads of Delegation from the European Commission, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iran and Uzbekistan, and representatives from observer members, including the United States of America (USA), Brazil, the Arab League and San Marino. Among the attendees were also the newly appointed IOC Deputy Executive Directors from Tunisia and Türkiye.