Watch the video of the event

This VC is designed to focus on key requirements for implementing an effective and integrated food safety system that allows the diversification of exports. The VC will also provide a forum for sharing the experience gained by Poland in raising food safety standards and their experience with harmonizing these standards with the EU’s regulation.

The issue of food produced under an approved safety system is highly relevant for Armenia and Georgia since these countries are interested in expanding and diversifying their exports. Moreover, the intention of these countries to pursue a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) with the EU presents a challenge to include agricultural and processed food as part of their export flows.

Objectives:

• Enhance the capacity of government officials to better understand key requirements of food safety at the practical operational industry level.
• Outline the required components for an effective food safety system which covers the entire sector from ‘farm to fork’.
• Learn from the Polish experience which actions were taken to improve food safety standards to comply with EU requirements.
• Facilitate the dialogue between Armenia and Georgia regarding constraints they are facing with regards to improving food safety and the challenges of harmonizing these standards with EU regulations.
• Provide a platform for a strategic discussion among stakeholders on food safety issues.

Methodology:

This dialogue will be conducted using World Bank country offices and the GDLN (Global Distance Learning Network) to connect participants in Armenia, Georgia, Poland, and Washington DC with an expert on food safety issues presenting the importance of these issues and the strategies to comply with EU standards for a potential DCFTA. The format will be a presentation by a food safety expert who will engage in discussion with participants and a commentator expert. In addition, a country experience will be presented to provide a practical view on issues related to EU food safety standards harmonization. The presentation and discussion will be in English only.

A thirty minute pre-video conference is scheduled to allow participants at each of the sites to discuss and formulate questions and comments for the VC speaker. Questions and comments generated by the participants at the sites during the pre-VC will be consolidated by local moderators in an online summary document that will be shared during the VC. Information regarding locations of World Bank country offices and GDLN centers where the event will take place is as follows:

Pre discussion will take place in Tbilisi and Yerevan at 16:30

Video conference start times at each location:

Targeted Audience:

• Government officials (Agriculture, Trade, Foreign, Finance/Economics ministries) directly involved in conducting trade negotiations.
• Government officials in sectoral ministries and regulatory agencies (agriculture, transport, finance, competition, national statistical offices) typically involved in managing the interface between trade and domestic regulatory reform.
• Officials in development or planning ministries, whose tasks increasingly includes keeping track of ongoing trade and investment negotiations and fitting such efforts into the broader and long-term process of development.
• Researchers in academia, think tanks, and regional research networks concerned with trade and regulatory policies.
• International organization staff (including World Bank staff) involved in analytical, advisory, and technical assistance work related to trade.
• Private sector representatives from the agri-food industry.

*GDLN, or the Global Development Learning Network, is a partnership of distance learning centers worldwide dedicated to development. This series is coordinated by CARNet, the GDLN affiliate in Croatia.

For additional information, please contact:
Gary Fine, ECA regional GDLN coordinator, gfine@worldbank.org, tel. +1 202 473 4741