Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers has approved hosting the 60th Session and Ministerial Meeting of the International Coconut Community (ICC) in November 2024.
The conference aims to boost foreign exchange earnings, promote the Sri Lankan coconut industry among member countries, and enhance cooperation between key stakeholders in the coconut sector. The proposal, presented by the Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries, was approved to be funded through income from the Coconut Development Authority and contributions from several private institutions in the coconut sector.
The ICC is an intergovernmental organization of coconut-producing countries, established in 1969 under the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP). Headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, the ICC is led by an Executive Director and currently includes 21 member countries, representing over 90 percent of the world’s coconut production and exports.
Member countries span across eight Asian nations: India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste; nine Pacific nations: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu; one Caribbean nation: Jamaica; two African nations: Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire; and one South American nation: Guyana.
