IPPC Participates in Brainstorming sessions with the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation SASEC)

On 24-25 of November in Bangkok, Thailand, the IPPC Secretariat participated in the Brainstorming Meeting on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Priorities and Challenges with South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) member countries. Government officials from relevant agencies, international experts (from organizations including SAARC, WTO, UNFAO, ARTNeT, and others), the Asian Development Bank and UNESCAP staff met to initiate a regional agenda that would address issues regarding existing standards under SPS measures and Technical Barriers to Trade. Discussions aimed to create a broader understanding of the constraints, preferences and priorities in areas of SPS and TBT in the region. Among their primary concerns, member countries noted that they are experiencing a lack of appropriate technical knowledge on SPS/ TBT issues, a lack of stakeholder awareness throughout the supply chain, financial and human resource constraints, inadequate infrastructure, and coordination and management issues across sectors. Members concluded that for these reasons, needs-based capacity-building activities should first be identified at both the regional and national levels. From that stage, training and management programs could be established to more closely monitor issues such as pest risk analysis, phytosanitary treatments, standards harmonization, food safety/ sanitation frameworks, network development, and reporting mechanisms. In a strategic approach to create the best ways forward, the meeting also addressed the available assistance and support that could be offered from international organizations and research networks in the areas of SPS and TBT. At the end of the meeting, there was a common agreement on the elements needed to develop a regional platform to address SPS and TBT progress in the SASEC region. Plans were made to develop a more extensive SPS/ TBT Knowledge Sharing Forum in 2014 as well as a SPS/ TBT Facilitation Subgroup in which emerging issues and common experiences could be shared. For more information and detail on the SASEC Brainstorming Meeting, please visit: http://www.sasec.asia/event_det2.php?events_id=90