The former Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), Gloria Abraham Peralta, was appointed by the Governing Council as the new ambassador and head of delegation of Costa Rica to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Abraham was the first woman to be appointed as the head of the MAG during the administration of Laura Chinchilla Miranda (2010-2014). Her appointment in the WTO occurred on July 29th at the initiative of the Minister of Foreign Trade (Comex), Dyalá Jiménez Figueres.
She defended Abraham’s public career and claimed that her appointment was convenient for the country because of her extensive experience in public service.
The expert arrives at the WTO with the task of driving the country’s interests in the commercial dispute with Mexico over the ban to Hass avocado from that country.
The dispute originated in May 2015, when the State Phytosanitary Service (SFE) suspended import permits for Mexican avocado on the grounds that it safeguarded the country’s health security, because that fruit, according to its analysis, was contaminated with the viroid known as sunblotch.
Last May, Costa Rica and Mexico agreed that the arbitration panel of the WTO should be composed of three arbitrators —an American, a Chilean and an Argentine— the second step of an extensive conflict resolution process.
During Laura Chinchilla’s government, Abraham arrived in Agriculture and Livestock without being an agronomist. She is a sociologist with a doctorate in Development Economics.