CIHEAM at a glance
Founded in 1962, the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) is an intergovernmental organisation comprising thirteen member countries from the Mediterranean Basin (Albania, Algeria, Egypt, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Tunisia and Turkey).
CIHEAM is made up of a General Secretariat based in Paris and four Mediterranean Agronomic Institutes (MAI) located in Bari (Italy), Chania (Greece), Montpellier (France) and Zaragoza (Spain).
In pursuing its three central missions (education, research and cooperation) CIHEAM has come to be recognised as an authority in its fields of activity: Mediterranean agriculture, food and sustainable rural development.
At present, Abdelaziz Mougou (cv) is President of CIHEAM and Francisco Mombiela Muruzabal (cv) is Secretary General.
Historical record
The International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) was founded at the joint initiative of the OECD and the Council of Europe on 21 May 1962. The agreement establishing the Centre was signed by the governments of seven southern European countries: France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and Yugoslavia.
From the CIHEAM's foundation were created the MAI of Bari (Italy) and Montpellier (France), and the General Secretariat settled in Paris (France). In 1969 was establishd the MAI of Zaragoza (Spain). Then, the MAI of Chania was created in 1983.
After 1983 CIHEAM confirmed its vocation by steadily opening up to countries on the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean Basin. This process took concrete effect with the accession of several new Member States: Tunisia (1985), Egypt and Algeria (1986), Malta (1989), Morocco (1991), Albania (1992) and Lebanon (1994).
In the 1962 agreement, it is stipulated that CIHEAM's mission consisted in "providing supplementary education (economic as well as technical) and developing a spirit of international cooperation among agricultural personnel in Mediterranean countries". According to article 15 of this agreement, every country on the Mediterranean rim is potentially eligible for membership of CIHEAM.
A Euro-Mediterranean will
Following the signing of the international treaty establishing CIHEAM at the beginning of the nineteen-sixties, the founders of the Centre proceeded to lay the foundations of an unprecedented Euro-Mediterranean project. Since, CIHEAM organises its activities in such as way as to ensure that education, research and cooperation are fully integrated.
The project involved no less than thirteen Mediterranean-rim countries: thirteen countries that regarded agriculture, food and the environment as important fields for regional cooperation. They all faced a range of agricultural and agronomic challenges and looked to CIHEAM to provide the executive training, specialised knowledge and common references that were needed and to facilitate technical, economic and political dialogue.
Today CIHEAM has established itself as a regional reference in the field of agriculture and food. There are two main reasons for its predominance:
- First, the institution leads the field in promoting Euro-Mediterranean dialogue and cooperation. Assessments and analyses are pooled by members and made available to front-line actors and local populations. A meeting point for people and ideas, CIHEAM is steadily pursuing its goal of promoting good will and solidarity between Mediterranean countries.
- Second, CIHEAM began the twenty-first century with the firm conviction that improved education for young people and a shared vision of regional issues were important factors in the success of the future Mediterranean project, which would inevitably bring the countries of the region together.
These are the ambitions that drive and shape the work of the Centre, armed as it is with nearly fifty years experience and an unfailing commitment to the Mediterranean world.