New IPPC Secretary Named

Mr. Jingyuan Xia of the People s Republic of China has been named by FAO Director General Graziano da Silva as the next Secretary of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). Mr. Xia has a BSc in plant protection, as well as an MSc and PhD in entomology. He has held several senior positions with Chinese agricultural institutions and most recently has been Permanent Representative and Minister Plenipotentiary to FAO. Mr. Xia will be taking over the position of Mr. Yukio Yokoi who resigned from the position of Secretary and has since taken up a position as Senior Advisor in the Plant Protection Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan. Mr. Yokoi first came to the IPPC in 2010, and served as Secretary of the International Plant Protection Convention Secretariat until December 2014. We wish Mr. Xia and Mr. Yokoi the very best of luck in their new positions.