Press Release 98/66

MEMBERS OF THE WORLD'S PARLIAMENTS IN ROME: A SUPPORT FORUM FOR FIGHTING HUNGER AND MALNUTRITION AND PROTECTING THE NATURAL RESOURCES

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Rome, November 12 -- Some 138 parliamentarians from 62 countries will meet in Rome, between 29 November and 2 December, to provide further support to the commitments of the World Food Summit in combating hunger and malnutrition.

They will hold a specialised Inter-Parliamentary Conference on "Attaining the World Food Summit's objectives through a sustainable development strategy." The Conference is organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), with the support of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and hosted by the Italian Parliament.

In 1996, the IPU organised a Parliaments' Day on the occasion of the FAO World Summit with Heads of State and Government from all over the world. At that meeting, the parliamentarians solemnly pledged to promote the Summit's goals, among them to reduce by one-half the number of undernourished by the year 2015 and stressed the need to establish legislative frameworks conducive to the development of agriculture in an environmentally sustainable manner.

The present Conference will further review the issues related to food security, the challenges and obstacles, on the eve of the next millennium.

The inaugural session and the first day of this specialised Conference (29 November) will take place in the Chamber of Deputies at Montecitorio, while the subsequent meetings (November 30 - December 2) will be convened at FAO Headquarters.

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Press facilities for accredited journalists will be available both at Montecitorio and the FAO.

Accreditation

Chamber of Deputies Press Office
Tel. 06.67602125- 06.67602866
fax: 06.783082

Requests to the Chamber of Deputies Press Office should be made out on headed notepaper indicating: first name, surname, place and date of birth, professional qualification, ID document number, or of Press Card with photograph.

FAO Press Office ( Nov. 30-Dec. 2)

Ms. Lola Camacho
Information Assistant
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00150 Roma
Ph: 06 57053625
Fax: 06 57053699
E-Mail: Lola.CamachoAlvarez@fao.org

Media representatives desiring access to FAO during the meeting will need to show either the pass obtained earlier for entry into the session at the Chamber of Deputies or, if they obtained none, a valid journalist document or a letter from their editors.

IPALMO Press Office for the Italian IPU Group

Chief: Pino Di Salvo
Viviane Hewitt

Conference Organisation Secretariat for the Italian IPU Group
Anna Maria Sideri

IPALMO
Via del Tritone, 62.b-00187 Rome
Tel: 06.6792321
Fax: 06.6797849
E-mail: ipalmo@star.it