Experts from countries in Central-Eastern Europe and Central Asia are meeting at the Ministry of Rural Development on December 11-13 to discuss the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on genetic resources. The meeting was organised jointly by the Ministry and the Montreal Directorate of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Communiqué.

At the opening of the Budapest talks, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Katalin Tóth stated that Hungary regards cooperation between Central-Eastern European countries and Central Asian countries as especially important, and this is one of the reasons why Hungary is hosting the talks.

Photo: Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development

Katalin Tóth stressed that regional cooperation plays a key role on the successfully realisation of international treaties. The sharing of experiences and good practices helps to bridge difficulties that may crop up and prompt us to work together to achieve success.

The Deputy State Secretary passed on the Ministry's invitation to visit the Plant Diversity Centre in Tápiószele, which functions with joint financing from the European Union and the Ministry of Rural Development, and which nor operated with extended functions within the framework of the Pannon Megabank project. Accordingly, the institute is now responsible for preserving the full biological diversity – including both livestock and crops used in agricultural production and the wildlife – of the entire Pannon Bio-geographical Region.
The Nagoya Protocol was adopted in 2010 and regulates access to genetic resources and the equitable distribution of the assets created through their exploitation. The Budapest talks will hopefully encourage the region's countries to ratify the Protocol as rapidly as possible.

(Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)