Second FAO Electronic Conference on Veterinary Services

An electronic conference entitled Mutual Trust between Veterinary Services -The Basis for Trade in Livestock and Livestock Products, is scheduled to take place between 1 June and 17 July 1998. The conference will be organized by the Animal Health Service (AGAH) of FAO.

The conference will address all aspects of the adjustments veterinary services to undergo in order to place their countries in a position to take advantage of the opportunities and manage the threats arising from increased global trade in livestock and  livestock products following the signing of the final act of the Uruguay Round  negotiations.

Aspects of veterinary services which may need to be addressed include:

                                                                                        • legislation and regulations
                                                                                        • human resources and infrastructure
                                                                                        • operating procedures and public relations
                                                                                        • financing and delivery
 

The overall objective of the conference is to develop a detailed catalogue of measures which can be taken to foster the mutual trust between the veterinary
services of trade partners.

The focus of the conference will be on The Americas and the Caribbean.  Many of the issues discussed will, however, be common to other countries and participation from all interested parties is welcome.

The conference will be of interest to all those concerned with livestock production and the trade of livestock and livestock products including: livestock producers and their associations, veterinary services - both government and private -, national planners and policy makers, professionals engaged in veterinary science and education, as well as representatives of the animal trade industry.

At weekly intervals, the organizers will present material, such as the WTO SPS Agreement, profiles of veterinary services, examples of trade disputes etc. to feed and stimulate discussion. A summary of the discussion and draft recommendations will be elaborated by an independent panel of experts in week 6 of the conference to be discussed and refined in the last week.

The primary languages of the conference will be Spanish and English, i.e. papers will be made available in these two languages. However, all other contributions to  the debate can also be made in Portuguese and French.

All papers, a summary of the discussion and the list of recommended measures which could/should be undertaken by each of the affected interest groups will be posted on this site.

To Register for the Electronic Conference send an email message to the mailserver at

MAILSERV@MAILSERV.FAO.ORG  with the text of the message: 

        SUBSCRIBE VETS-L   

You will receive confirmation and a 'welcome' message.

If you should wish to withdraw from the conference, send a message to
MAILSERV@MAILSERV.FAO.ORG  with the text of the message:

        UNSUBSCRIBE VETS-L

To send comments and contributions to the conference, send your message to the list at   VETS-L@MAILSERV.FAO.ORG

Send a request to Joachim Otte (Veterinary Services ), or to David Ward (Non-infectious and Production Diseases), or to Valdir Roberto Welte (Disease  Intelligence).

 SUBSCRIPTION AND OTHER COMMANDS SHOULD BE SENT TO THE MAILSERVER .
 COMMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS SHOULD BE SENT TO THE LIST.