This international conference was held from 16-20 March 2002 in Alexandria, Egypt.

Sponsored by the Government of Egypt, the FAO, UNESCO, World Bank and OECD, the meeting included plenary sessions on: the new life sciences; feeding the world; genetic resources and biotechnology; and policy and regulatory implications of the new life sciences. It also included a Ministerial Forum and a closing session on “mapping the future and beyond.” Specific themes addressed were food and agriculture, human health, and ethics and environmental safety. During the meeting, speakers stressed that biotechnology should be “reprioritized” to meet the needs of the poor. A representative of the Rockefeller Foundation argued that “most of our brightest scientists are working in sophisticated laboratories in industrial countries and have little or no knowledge of the needs of the poor living in rural areas, a continent away. We need more of our best scientists working in well-equipped laboratories and field facilities in developing countries, where they can interact with, learn from, and address the needs of poor people.” In other statements, a representative of the Egyptian Agricultural Genetic Engineering Institute highlighted co-development of technology as an alternative to technology transfer. For more information visit: http://www.egyptbiotech.com/ http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=15074&newsdate=19-Mar-2002 http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=15100&newsdate=20-Mar-2002 http://www.agbiotechnet.com/topics/Database/newsarticle.asp?id=1231&name=