Switzerland fosters dialogue among cocoa stakeholders

Bern, 11.03.2014 - Within the framework of the International Cocoa Organisation's meeting in Switzerland, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO has for the first time organised the interactive cocoa forum. In a number of small moderated groups, various international stakeholders along the cocoa value chain shared their experiences and challenges in implementing the Global Cocoa Agenda.

At Switzerland's invitation, the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) is meeting in Zurich from 11 to 14 March 2014. The meeting was opened by State Secretary Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch. In her speech, the Director of SECO underscored Switzerland's full support for the content of the Global Cocoa Agenda, which was adopted in 2012 at the first World Cocoa Conference in Abidjan and seeks to achieve a sustainable cocoa value chain through a joint effort. She pointed out that Switzerland has been actively promoting sustainable cocoa value chains long before the Agenda and noted the pioneering work of the various Swiss stakeholders in this respect.

Apart from its role as an international trading hub for cocoa and chocolate, Switzerland also has a leading role with regard to sustainability in the cocoa value chain. Furthermore, as part of its economic cooperation and development, SECO supports projects in countries such as Ghana and Indonesia to make the local value chains more sustainable, i.e. in conformity with explicit quality, environmental and social criteria. 

 The ICCO (www.icco.org) was founded in 1973. Comprising 46 cocoa-producing, consuming and trading countries, the organisation assists their governments in fostering a transparent cocoa economy. Its role is to raise awareness and promote international cooperation, compile statistics and publish technical information. The ICCO is also mandated to monitor the progress made by cocoa stakeholders in implementing the Global Cocoa Agenda.


Address for enquiries

State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO
Holzikofenweg 36
CH-3003 Bern
Tel. +41 58 462 56 56
medien@seco.admin.ch


Publisher

State Secretariat for Economic Affairs
http://www.seco.admin.ch

https://www.admin.ch/content/gov/en/start/dokumentation/medienmitteilungen.msg-id-52275.html