text: In a process that began in 2019, the President of the Republic of Colombia, H. E. Mr Iván Duque, signed into law the bill for Colombia's accession to the ICCO during an event attended by both representatives of the Colombian cocoa sector and a delegation from the ICCO, headed by Michel Arrion, its Executive Director.
  Colombia’s accession will expand the ICCO’s membership to 52 countries, with 23 exporting Member countries and 29 importing Member countries. Colombia will be the ninth Member country in the Latin America and Caribbean region, joining Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
  “We are pleased to welcome Colombia as the 52nd Member of the ICCO. Colombia's membership is tangible proof of our shared commitment to achieve a more sustainable world cocoa economy through enhanced cooperation between exporting and importing countries," said Arrion.
  The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) is an inter-governmental organization established in 1973 under the auspices of the United Nations and operating within the framework of successive International Cocoa Agreements. The ICCO is headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The ICCO seeks to promote and support the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of the cocoa value chain, and in particular to improve the living conditions of cocoa farmers.