3rd Meeting of the IPPC ePhyto Project Advisory Committee

The third ePhyto Project Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting took place on Monday, 16th of July at the IPPC Secretariat headquarters in FAO, Rome, Italy. The PAC which provides guidance to and support in project development particularly in relation to cooperation with other international initiatives on electronic certificates reviewed the IPPC ePhyto progress and advancements. The Committee which is chaired by Ms. Barbara Cooper discussed in detail the objectives of a 5 year strategic plan which is intended to lay out the details of transitioning from a donor funded project to a stable operating program. The PAC also discussed an advocacy and communications strategy which will facilitate and drive the establishment of a sustainable program. The future role of the PAC was also discussed and members noted the importance of the PAC in continuing to provide guidance to the IPPC ePhyto operation to advance national interoperability between electronic certificate systems and to support trade facilitation. Participants representing the World Bank, World Customs Organization, CODEX, OIE and ASEAN also provided an overview of their work on electronic document initiatives.