High-level segment
One of the highlights of the symposium will be the high-level segment which will take place from 14.30 to 17.30 on 16 February in the Green Room. Like the other sessions of the symposium, it will be webcast live and there will be interpretation in English, French and Spanish.
During the session, high-level representatives of a selected number of FAO member countries will make statements from the podium. They have been invited to deliver statements which focus on the policies and/or major programmes/investments in their country relevant to the application of agricultural biotechnologies. Given the multisectoral nature of the symposium, they have also been invited, to the extent possible, to address issues related to the crop, livestock, forestry and fishery sectors.
The high-level segment will be organized in two sessions and is expected to follow this format:
Session 1 (14.30-15.50):
14.30 - 14.40: Opening remarks, by José Graziano da Silva, the FAO Director-General
14.40 - 14.50: Statement, by Néstor Roulet, Secretario de Agregado de Valor, Ministerio de Agroindustria, Argentina
14.50 - 15.00: Statement, by Frédéric Seppey, Chief Agriculture Negotiator, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada
15.00 - 15.10: Statement, by Katalin Tóth, Deputy State Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Hungary
15.10 - 15.20: Statement, by Papa Abdoulaye Seck, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Equipment Senegal
15.20 - 15.50: Q&A with the Moderator
Break (15.50-16.10)
Session 2 (16.10-17.30):
16.10 - 16.20: Statement, by Begum Matia Chowdhury, Minister for Agriculture, Bangladesh
16.20 - 16.30: Statement, by Henri Eyebe Ayissi, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cameroon
16.30 - 16.40: Statement, by Hans Hoogeveen, Vice Minister for Agriculture, Ministry of Economic Affairs, The Netherlands
16.40 - 16.50: Statement, by Michael Scuse, Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, The United States of America
16.50 - 17.20: Q&A with the Moderator
17.20 - 17.30: Closing remarks, by José Graziano da Silva, the FAO Director-General
The segment will be moderated by Marcela Villarreal, Director, Partnerships, Advocacy and Capacity Development Division, FAO