FAO Regional Office for the Near East is organizing the Annual Regional Workshop for reviewing the Drafts of International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) in collaboration with the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). The workshop will be held, in Grand Nile Tower Hotel, Cairo, Egypt during the period 9-13 September, 2012.

The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is multilateral treaty on plant health. The Convention aims at protecting cultivated and wild plants by preventing the introduction and spread of pests associated with the plant products in international trade through developing standards for phytosanitary measures and assisting member countries in their application.

The IPPC aimed by developing the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) to provide guidelines and recommendations for unifying the phytosanitary measures at the global level that simplify and facilitate international trade of plant products. It also aimed to avoid any measures applied individually by the countries that might lead to unjustified barriers in International trade. The International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) are also the basis for phytosanitary measures applied by members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the Convention on the application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS).

The aim of the workshop is to discuss the new draft standards approved by the Standard Committee this year to ensure full involvement of the member countries in developing of these standards; and to ensure that the opinions and comments of the Near East countries are incorporated in the draft before final revision and approval by the governing body of the IPPC- Commission on Application of Phytosanitary Measures (CPM).