December 2014: Iraq has acceded to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR), bringing the number of parties to 133.

Iraq acceded to the Treaty on 29 September 2014, and became its 133rd party on 27 November 2014. “As part of the Fertile Crescent, Iraq is among the countries that house the origins of agriculture, and we are delighted to have Iraq join the Treaty community and to work together to conserve the world’s plant genetic resources for future generations,” said ITPGR Secretary Shakeel Bhatti. [ITPGR News Release][ITPGR Parties]