The Regional Office for the Near East of the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will organize in collaboration with The Egyptian Central Administration for Plant Quarantine a training workshop on the implementation of Standard Number 15 (Wood packaging material in the international trade). The workshop will take place from 9:00 a.m. at the Chamber of Commerce in Alexandria (31, Chamber of Commerce, Street), during the period from 30 June - 3 July 2008, with the participation of eight countries of the region: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Jordan and Oman. 

The workshop aims at providing a practical guidance to the implementation of Standard Number 15, particularly in the Near East Countries, as they are the least countries that implement this standard. This workshop will assist these countries to adopt a method to deal with wood packaging material in compliance with the requirements of Standard Number 15 during the importation and exportation of their commodities, using the wood packaging material in order to avoid any commercial disputes between importers and exporters. 

The training workshop will provide a good opportunity to the National Plant Protection Organizations to improve their efforts in implementing Standard Number 15 properly in their countries, identify the constraints facing their countries during the process of implementation and formulate a general consensus on means of solutions to ensure the implementation of this Standard according to the international standard. 

It is worth to note that Standard Number 15 is one of the International Phytosanitary Standards issued by the International Plant Protection Convention based on consultations and adoptions by the member countries. Standard Number 15 is one of the effective methods to prevent the introduction and spread of pests and diseases from one country to another through wood packaging material. Therefore, wood should be treated according to the procedures of implementation required by Standard 15.