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The 14th Session of the Intergovernmental Technical Working Group on Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Working Group) will be held at FAO headquarters in Rome from 25 to 27 November 2026. The meeting will be conducted in person and will open on Wednesday 25 November 2026 at 10:00 hours. The Session is being convened under the Regular Programme of the Organization.

The Working Group was established by the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture for Food and Agriculture at its 7th Session in May 1997. The Twentieth Regular Session of the Commission in March 2025 decided that the Working Group should meet prior to the next Regular Session of the Commission. Issues to be addressed by the 14th Session of the Working Group include:

• Preparation of the Third Report on the State of the World’s Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture; and
• Implementation and review of the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources.

The Commission also requested the Working Group to explore:

• Climate change and animal genetic resources for food and agriculture; and
• Review of the Commission’s Strategic Plan and Multi-Year Programme of Work.

The Members of the Working Group and their Alternates, as elected by the Twentieth Regular Session of the Commission in March 2025, are as follows:

Africa: Ethiopia, Malawi, Namibia, Uganda, Togo

• First Alternate: Algeria
• Second Alternate: Zimbabwe

Asia: Bhutan, China, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand

• First Alternate: Indonesia
• Second Alternate: Japan

Europe: Germany, Netherlands (Kingdom of the), Norway, Poland, Switzerland

• First Alternate: Czechia
• Second Alternate: Russian Federation

Latin America and the Caribbean: Argentina, Costa Rica, Panama, Uruguay, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

• First Alternate: Jamaica
• Second Alternate: Cuba

Near East: Lebanon, Libya, Qatar, Sudan

• First Alternate: Iran (Islamic Republic of)
• Second Alternate: Saudi Arabia

North America: Canada, United States of America

Southwest Pacific: Papua New Guinea, Fiji

• First Alternate: Samoa
• Second Alternate: Cook Islands

According to the Statutes of the Working Group, Alternates replace, in the order in which they appear on the above list, any Member who has resigned and informed the Secretariat accordingly. Members are requested to confirm to the Secretariat in writing their participation or non-participation in the Working Group meeting. If a Member of the Working Group is not able to attend the meeting, and informs the Secretariat accordingly, the Member shall be replaced in a timely manner by one of the elected Alternates from the same region. In case a Member of the Working Group does not attend the meeting, the Working Group, in consultation with the region, may replace this Member, on an ad hoc basis, by a Member of the Commission from the same region that is present at the meeting.