The CCNE Region - Regional Coordinator Oman

In 1999 the 23rd session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission established the Regional Coordinating Committee for the Near East, bringing together countries in the Near East Region (for FAO) and the Eastern Mediterranean Region (for WHO). The committee held its first meeting in Cairo, Egypt in 2001.

The current regional coordinator for the Near East is based in the Food Safety and Quality Centre of the Ministry of Agricultural and Fisheries Wealth and Water Resources in Muscat.

Objectives of the Sultanate of Oman through taking on the role of Regional Coordinator for the Near East Region and Chair of the FAO/WHO Codex Coordinating Committee for the Near East:

• Enhancing efforts to promote effective participation of member countries and all stakeholders, including producers, consumers, and relevant governmental and non-governmental organizations of the Near East Region, in Codex Alimentarius proceedings.
• Continuing to build and enhance national capacities in member states and regional organizations to enable effective participation in international food standard setting.
• Ensuring that the development of Codex Alimentarius standards, at the global level, take into account the specificities of food production and consumption in the Near East Region.
• Promoting the adoption and use of Codex standards as the basis of national food regulatory decisions in member states of the region. This will positively impact consumer health and facilitate the trade of food products at both the regional and international levels and will further contribute to the development of food production in the region, with added competitiveness both regionally and internationally.