Inaugural ceremony
Election of the chairman, vice-chairmen and appointment of the rapporteur
Adoption of the agenda
1. The Twentieth FAO Regional Conference for Europe was held in Tel Aviv, Israel from 29 April to 3 May 1996 at the invitation of the Government of the State of Israel.
2. The list of Participants is given in Appendix A to this Report.
3. The Director-General of FAO, Mr. Jacques Diouf, welcomed participants and expressed particular thanks to the Government of Israel for its generous hospitality and the excellent facilities provided for the Conference. He highlighted the ethical necessity of eliminating hunger and the threat that hunger presented to the world. A truly global campaign, involving all sectors of society, to achieve a world free of hunger would be required following the World Food Summit to be held in Rome in November 1996.
4. In his welcoming address on behalf of the State of Israel, the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Ya'acov Tsur, underlined the need for concrete action to tackle the problem of world hunger. Agricultural production would have to double over the next 30 or 40 years. This called for both investment and progress with research. Countries in a position to do so should help others. Israel was playing its part in this and would continue to do so. However, there was a fundamental need for peace alongside economic development in order to achieve food security.
5. The Conference also expressed its gratitude to the Government of Israel for its hospitality and the excellent facilities provided.
6. The Conference welcomed the statement and the presence throughout the Conference of the Independent Chairman of the Council. The Conference also welcomed the statements of several UN agencies and NGOs.
7. The Conference unanimously elected Mr. Ya'acov Tsur, the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development of Israel as Chairman.
8. The following vice-chairmen were elected by acclamation:
- Mr. Joze Osterc, Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Food of Slovenia;- Mr. Paolo Vincenzo Massa, Conseiller, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy;
- Mr. Bjorn Sigurbjornsson, Secretary General in the Ministry of Agriculture of Iceland.
9. Mr. David Sands Smith, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to FAO, was elected Rapporteur.
[1 ERC/96/1]
10. The Conference adopted the Agenda as shown in Appendix B to this Report.
11. In view of the absence of the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe, or his representative, Item 5 was deleted from the Provisional Agenda.
