Managing Director meets Ambassador of Suriname
Ambassador Sheikh Mohammed Belal, Managing Director of the Common Fund for Commodities, met H.E. Mr. Rejendre Khargi, Ambassador of the Republic of Suriname to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, at their Embassy in The Hague, to discuss, among others, the accession of Suriname to the CFC.
Ambassador Belal, while sharing the basics of the CFC’s structure and working process, also shared insights on how innovations in agriculture, which, in his views, are in abundance in the Netherlands and in the region, are being used in the implementation of CFC’s projects. Ambassador Belal also shared with Ambassador Khargi stories from CFC’s projects where new innovations have been incorporated to bring higher productivity. Ambassador Belal also highlighted the importance of nutrition security at this time of pandemic and elaborated how CFC also contributes towards making the commodity value chain duly loaded with elements of nutrition. They also discussed other innovations that the CFC is either implementing or contemplating to implement in the near future.
Ambassador Belal further informed Ambassador Khargi of the approval of the recently concluded 33rd Governing Council to formulate CIIF (Commodity Impact Investment Facility). The fund, which is now in the legal process, will be a public-private partnership fund to invest in commodity value chains in developing countries for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.
Ambassador Khargi showed keen interest in the workings of CFC and stated that his country is also putting enough emphasis on mainstreaming agriculture, ecotourism, renewables, biodiversity, and carbon sequestrating. Suriname, although carbon-negative already, wishes to invest more in greening nature. This is why Suriname is going to participate in the forthcoming Expo 2022 Floriade Amsterdam-Almere from April 2022 to October 2022 to showcase the multidimensional potential of Suriname. With innovations and creativity in the commodity value chains, Suriname has the potential to become a member of the CFC, Ambassador Belal added.
Ambassador Belal extended an invitation to Suriname to join the CFC and thereby help as many people as possible to lift themselves from poverty. Ambassador Khargi thanked Ambassador Belal for the invitation while assuring their active consideration of the proposal to join CFC. They concluded the meeting with mutual resolve to do their best for the cause of sustainability and alleviation of poverty.