The meeting held in Abu-Dhabi on 22-23 February was designed to move the above process forward by convening an ad hoc working group composed of the promoters of the three project ideas mentioned above and selected resource persons from the region. The objectives of the meeting were the following:
(a) To review the three project concept notes and determine the possibility for financing and execution them as stand alone projects within the AARINENA region;
(b) To identify commonalities among the three projects that could form the basis of an inter-regional proposal that will add value to and increase the effectiveness of on-going research and development interventions in the region and in other regions;
(c) To identify candidate on-going R&D interventions that could become an integral part of an inter-regional programme;
(d) To make a preliminary determination of the experience and expertise available in the region, and the demands and needs that might be met by expertise from other regions;
(e) To develop the plan of activities required for preparing the region to participate in a inter-regional project planning meeting to be held in the second semester of 2006