PRAGUE: SUCCESSFUL BIOTECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE AND

UNCLAS PRAGUE 001063 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EEB/TTP/ABT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR ECON ETRD EZ SUBJECT: PRAGUE: SUCCESSFUL BIOTECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE AND DINNER REF: A. PRAGUE 78 ¶B. STATE 81402 ¶1. Summary: The U.S. Embassy hosted a conference and dinner on biotechnology on September 7, 2007 with funding from EEB. The conference, co-sponsored by the Czech Ministry of Agriculture, drew over 70 participants from five countries, including representatives from government, retail and food industry, academia, as well as English and Czech press. The capstone event was a dinner for biotechnology policy-makers hosted by Ambassador Graber, which was a resounding success. End summary. ¶2. Ambassador Graber gave opening remarks at the conference, explaining the importance of biotechnology in the United States and the opportunities biotechnology provides to address poverty and food security issues on a global scale. Among the seven panel speakers were Mr. Fred Yoder, a farmer from the United States (Ohio),and Professor Richard Phipps from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. Mr. Yoder also appeared on the popular morning talk show "Dobre Rano" with Czech Ministry of Agriculture representative Marie Cerovska to talk about the benefits of biotechnology. ¶3. Attendees at the dinner included Czech Minister of Agriculture Petr Gandalovic, Deputy Minister of Environment Dr. Karel Blaha and Chairman of the Czech Parliament Agriculture Committee Ladislav Skopal, along with representatives from leading agricultural organizations. Ambassador Graber congratulated the Czech Republic on its leadership role in agricultural biotechnology in Europe and led a discussion on current challenges and the future of biotechnology in Europe. Minister Gandalovic was forthright in discussing the difficulties EU membership presents with regard to biotechnology but noted the Czech government and parliament will continue to support a science-based approach to biotechnology. Both government and industry representatives expressed satisfaction with the content of the conference and asked the Ambassador to consider hosting such events in the future. THOMPSON-JONES