Participants of the 17th CFC/ICB meeting. Photo: K. Sakaguchi/ITTO
The 17th meeting between the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) and the International Commodity Bodies (ICBs) was hosted by the International Tropical Timber Organization in Yokohama, Japan on 31 August 2010. In his Opening remarks, the Executive Director of ITTO, Mr. Emmanuel Ze Meka noted that the amount of funds mobilized by ITTO in relation to the enormity of the task of assisting its member countries in addressing the pressing problems and challenges confronting tropical forests was very modest. He also stressed the relevance and potency of the partnership between CFC, the ICBs and the FAO intergovernmental commodity groups in advancing commodity sector development as the key strategy towards improving economies and livelihoods in developing countries.