Under the patronage of H.E Mr. Amin Abaza, Minster of Agriculture and Land Reclamation of Egypt, the Expert Consultation Meeting for the Establishment of Agricultural Biotechnology Network was held in Cairo, Egypt, during the period 15-16 December 2007. The meeting was hosted by Egypt Agricultural Research Center (ARC),and sponsored by the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and AARINENA. 

The Agricultural Biotechnology Network was established upon the recommendations of AARINENA Executive Committee, and emerged from the need for a coordinating body and a technical cooperation Network on agricultural biotechnology for the promotion of cooperation among the region states for the optimal utilization of limited resources available for the development of agricultural biotechnology. 

The objective of the Consultation Meeting was to discuss the establishment of Regional Network for Agricultural Biotechnology in the Near East and North Africa. APCoAB was invited to share its experiences in the Asia-Pacific region and explore the areas of interregional collaboration with the new network. 

Eighteen agricultural biotechnology experts from 14 countries of the region (Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen) besides representatives from AARINENA, FAO,GFAR, ICARDA and APCoAB, participated in the consultation meeting. 

Participants unanimously adopted the proposal by Dr. I. Hamdan, Executive Secretary, AARINENA, for the establishment of Regional Network for Agricultural Biotechnology in the Near East and North Africa.