BB. Bouato Editor in Chief

Dear Readers,

We invite you to share, through this issue of our Phytosanitary News Bulletin (PNB), some highlights of the 22nd General Assembly and the 2nd Steering Committee meeting of the IAPSC, held in Cairo (Egypt) from 18-23 March 2006.

These two Phytosanitary events clearly marked a turning point in the history of the IAPSC. This turning point is characterized by the implementation of the new policy of the African Union Commission which requires organs of the Commission to primarily rely on Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to relay their action in member countries, and vice versa.

For this reason it was the RECs, this time around, which were called upon to present the overall phytosanitary situation of their respective sub-regions, in order to give a more comprehensive view of the continent's phytosanitary problems. This presentation was complemented by scientific exposés on specific problems bearing on the theme of this 22nd General Assembly, namely "Plant Health and Safe Trade". Country reports on the phytosanitary problems of each member state were also compiled by the IAPSC Secretariat and distributed to participants in order to facilitate the exchange of phytosanitary information among member countries.

Another significant aspect of the "Cairo phytosanitary events" was that all the documents (with the exception of the few documents which were produced late or which arrived late at the IAPSC) were translated in the two main working languages of the AU (English and French). All of this work was carried out under the personal supervision of the new IAPSC Director, who threatened to postpone the meeting if the necessary documentation was not ready. The host country assumed the duplication costs of all the documents and made sure that there was enough documentation for everyone. As far as this vital aspect of the organization of a meeting is concerned, we dare hope that participants at this GA were much better satisfied than in the past. However, we regret a little the low attendance by member states, undoubtedly due to financial constraints and the travel itinerary. In deed, only about twenty countries were able to make it to Cairo.

Pending the final report, which shall be published in our website, you will find in this issue the abstract of the presentation of the general theme of the GA, the briefing note on its organization, and excerpts of the phytosanitary situation in the two sub-regions of SADC and COMESA presented at the 22nd General Assembly. A few abstracts of some of the papers presented by experts on points directly relating to the general theme are also included in this issue.

Dear Readers, while promising to bring you more highlights of the Cairo meeting in our subsequent issues, we whish you a pleasant reading of this 48th issue of your Phytosanitary News Bulletin. To consult the whole Bulletin please click in PDF file below...

Phytosanitary News Bulletin N° 48 22nd GA (PDF, 420.7 ko)

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