The ASEAN Coffee Federation (ACF) represented by its President, Victor Mah, and the International Coffee Organization (ICO), represented by its Executive Director, Vanúsia Nogueira, signed a Joint Declaration to reinforce the cooperation towards a sustainable and prosperous coffee sector in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
One of the key objectives will involve building a ASEAN Regional Knowledge Hub aimed at supporting programs and investments at the national, regional and international level.
“This Joint Declaration relies on a stepwise approach that will enable the federation and the organisation to collaborate openly and constructively to mutually support each other, fostering information and resources sharing and facilitating the communication between all ACF Members,” says Mah.
The Joint Declaration also establishes a constructive basis to promote the ICO Coffee Private Public Task Force (CPPTF) methodologies, activities and goals in the region, enabling the development of activities to advance the CPPTF’s objectives, including to close the income gaps and achieve prosperity for smallholder producers.
“The climate and geographical position of Southeast Asia is an ideal condition for coffee cultivation, and the coffee culture and expertise in coffee production have contributed to a flourishing coffee industry in the region,” says Nogueira.
“Therefore, our work with the ASEAN Coffee Federation will represent a major step forward to develop ASEAN coffee branding at the regional level and beyond, as well as foster the cooperation including with the private sector through the ICO Task Force to empower the Coffee Cooperatives in sustainable and inclusive coffee Value Chain development.”
According to the ICO, coffee is becoming a key commodity for South-East Asian countries. The cooperation with the ICO and its Coffee Task Force will enable it to leverage knowledges and resources that will benefit local growers and all coffee actors in the road ahead to reinforce the ASEAN position as leading producer and trader of quality coffee at a regional and global level.
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