The move was decided when the FAO's director general, Graziano da Silva met Bernard Vallat, Director General of the OIE during an official visit to France this week.
Priority issues mentioned during the meeting included the progressive control of transboundary animal diseases; joint strategies and working groups on foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), peste des petits ruminants (PPR) and rift valley fever (RVF); placement of regional animal health centres; joint work on food- and wildlife-borne diseases; aquatic diseases and aquaculture.
Graziano da Silva pointed out that FAO's work in this area should focus on the organisation's core mandate to fight hunger, malnutrition and extreme poverty.
FAO and OIE Work on Formal Accord
FRANCE - The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN and the World Animal Health Organisation are to work on a formal accord to address the overlaps in the mandates of the two agencies and facilitate and improve cooperation.
by Chris Haris
