FIRST MEETING
PREMIERE SEANCE
PRIMERA SESION

(15 November 1979)

The First Meeting was opened at 9. 45 hours
Mohamed Sidki Zehni, Chairman of Commission I, presiding

La première seance est ouverte à 9 h 45, sous
la présidence de Mohamed Sidki Zehni, Président de la Commission I

Se abre la primera sesión a las 9. 45 horas, bajo la presidencia
de Mohamed Sidki Zehni, Presidente de la Comisión I

CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Arabic):In the name of God, the merciful, I welcome you Ladies and Gentlemen this morning and declare open the first meeting. First of all allow me to welcome you all here and at the same time to express my deep gratitude for having elected me to the Chair of this Commission. At a time when I feel that it is an honour that you confer upon myself and my country, it is at the same time a heavy responsibility and a very delicate task which I hope to be able to fulfill thanks to your cooperation and my own capacities.

A first glance at today's Order of the Day emphasises the special importance of this Session and the very special importance of all the items before us. I feel moreover that Commission I should not only concentrate on the assessment of the conditions prevailing in food and agriculture today but also look forward into the future and we shall therefore consider the target date of the year 2000.

There are many items and points arising in connexion with farming in all its many forms and the services given to man by agriculture. We have also to look at new ways of exploring maritime resources. I would particularly wish to highlight those aspects and the importance of these issues today. We shall not only scrutinize the issues but also attempt to express an opinion on the problems and strive to seek together solutions in order really to be up to the responsibilities we have been given. I think that that is the crux of this whole important role of FAO throughout its history its experience has been gleaned in this area which makes it particularly expert and capable of tackling the problems of today and facing the future in a responsible manner.

As Chairman of this Commission I have often had to take an. in-depth look at the problems of today. There have been fifteen meetings with the various responsible people who have drawn up the documents. This preliminary spade work has made it possible for me to appreciate the efforts required in order to prepare today's meeting. As we know, we are to work together for a mere fourteen hours, five of which will be devoted to the scrutiny and adoption or our report. This boils down to thirty-five hours of actual work, in order to wind up the discussion on the five items on the agenda before us and adopt resolutions in connection with these issues. It is therefore important that delegates should cooperate fully with me in order that we may finish our work in good conditions. This can only be done if we speak in a concise manner and abide by the timetable we have been given. There is an alternative to have night sessions. I think that is not a popular alternative with everybody and I hope we shall not reach that point.

Before proceeding to the items on the agenda, permit me to speak first of all of a special issue, namely, the setting up of a Drafting Committee which will prepare the report of our Commission, which we are scheduled to adopt a the very latest on 26 November. If delegates agree, I should like the Drafting Committee to meet as from tomorrow, after preliminary consultations which I shall have had with the various groups concerned. The Drafting Committee should start its work from the beginning of next week in order to be able to finalize the report in due time and so that we may adhere to our schedule.

We shall now proceed to our first item, item 6 on our Order of the Day.