Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Katalin Tóth represented Hungary and planted a tree at the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity in Hyderabad, where participants from over 170 countries met at the summit of the organisation's decision-making body.

The planting of the tree signifies that, similarly to the other participating nations, Hungary has joined the initiative designed to draw attention to the importance of preserving nature and of international cooperation. With reference to the tree planting, the State Secretary stressed that the preservation of biodiversity may only be successful if all the world's nations are involved and facilitate the realisation of the convention's objectives at both a regional and local level through various concrete drives and measures.

The conference, aimed at preserving biodiversity and at which Hungary is also taking part, is being held in India between 8-19 October. Ministers and high-ranking officials from the participating countries will also attend the discussions between 17-19 October.

At the opening of the high-level section of the conference, Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated a so-called Biodiversity Complex. The goal of the complex is to increase awareness of the importance of the preservation of biodiversity, including the genetic resources of livestock and crops that provide food. According to plans, the biodiversity centre will also be home to a gene bank for the preservation of autochthonous animal species.

The inauguration of the new complex provided an opportunity for the establishment of a collection of tree species, of which every participating nation received a tree. The trees were planted by the high-level officials attending the conference, thus symbolising the role of global cooperation in the preservation of biodiversity.

(Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)