The First ECO Regional Workshop on Harmonization of Seed Regulations was organized and hosted by the Federal Seed Certification & Registration Department of Pakistan on 17-19 January, 2007 in Islamabad.

The workshop was attended by senior delegates from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan. The representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), International Union for Plant Production & Protection of New Varieties (UPOV) and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) also attended the workshop.

The Federal Secretary, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Government of Pakistan inaugurated the workshop. In his inaugural statement he stressed the need for close coordination with the private sector to sustain and enhance international trade in agriculture products. An efficient formal seed sector should help realize the tremendous potential of the region for sustained agricultural development and growth.

The workshop reviewed the seed variety release, plant variety protection mechanisms and phytosanitary/quarantine measures in the ECO region to enhance seed trade. The workshop overviewed the seed sector and identified key problems in regional collaboration on seed and planting material.

 The recommendations of the workshop would be submitted to the forthcoming 3rd ECO Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture scheduled for 5-7 March 2007 in Tehran.

The workshop was organized within the framework of FAO-ECO Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) for strengthening seed supply in the ECO region. The second workshop on harmonization of seed regulations will be held in Azerbaijan in May 2007.