Exercise Phoenix is an international simulation exercise that culminates and concludes the field activities within a joint project with FAO, WOAH and INTERPOL to build sustainable resilience against animal health emergencies caused by agro-terrorism and agro-crime. The exercise will be held from 13 – 16 February 2023 in the three following regions: North Africa (Algeria, Marocco, Tunisia, Mauritania), Middle East (Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon) and South East Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines). On 28 February 2023, a discussion exercise for participating international organizations  will be held in Rome, Italy. 

In Exercise Phoenix, participants will respond to a fictitious scenario affecting animal health and food security, which requires cooperation between law enforcement and veterinary services during the investigation and response phases. 

The objectives of Exercise Phoenix are to:

• To raise awareness of, and confirm triggers of suspicion of, an agro-terrorism act at national and regional level.
• To discuss initial joint response to suspicion and the initial response measures put in place when detecting an agro-terrorism event.
• To practice collaboration and cooperation between Law Enforcement and Veterinary Services at the national and regional level.
• To discuss information sharing at national, regional and international level in response to this threat
• To explore the roles of selected national, regional, and international entities in dealing with an international agro-terrorism incident.

 Learn more: here.