The Third Global Conference of the World Banana Forum (WBF) was held at the International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on 8 and 9 November 2017. Over 300 persons representing a wide range of stakeholders from 38 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America were registered for the event with an interest in engaging in discussions on important issues in the global banana industry, including collaboration, gender, business and technical concerns. The participants represented governments, relevant international organizations, importers, exporters, retailers, producer organizations, trade unions, civil society organizations and research institutes.

Two important events preceded the Third Global Conference of the WBF, namely, (1) the Multi-Stakeholder Meeting on Gender Equity in the Banana Industry and (2) the 13th Meeting of the Steering Committee of the WBF, both held on 7 November 2017. A side event on Combatting Fusarium Wilt TR4 was held on 10 November 2017, following the end of the Global Conference.

This report provides a summary of the key outcomes and discussions that took place during the panel sessions on 8 and 9 November 2017. The structure of the report is as follows:

• summary of the opening speeches followed by the summary of conclusions from the Multi-Stakeholder Meeting on Gender Equity that was held on 7 November 2017;
• summary of the moderators’ and panellists’ discussions and proposals made to the WBF in each of the five panels;
• summary of the final remarks and closing speeches of the conference.

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