. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/980 
10 November 2009 
 (09-5599) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  
 
Statement by Belize at the meeting of 28-29 October 2009
 
  
 The following communication, received on 30 Octo ber 2009, is being circulated at the request 
of the Delegation of Belize
. 
 
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Update on Technical Assistance Recei ved from the European Communities
 
 1. The implementation of the technical assistance project:  "To Enhance National Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Capacity in Belize" was to initiate in February 2009, however this did not occur until 
May 2009.  This was as a result of the findings of the first mission which indicated that the specific 
technical training requested by Belize required more specialized experts than previously envisioned.   
2. To date the following has been accomplished: 
• Twenty-two (22) officers have been trained in meat hygiene, inspection, on-farm food safety 
programmes including traceability;  and 
• Ten (10) officers have received training in sanitary certification of fishing vessels. 
 3. Additional activities to be undertaken in  November and December 2009 include: 
• Training to enhance surveillance programmes, including sampling and testing methodologies; 
• Training in specialized avian pathology;  and 
• Pest identification. 
 4. One of the experts will also conduct a gap analys is which will be a comparison of our current 
draft food safety and plant and animal health bills  with the EC agriculture health and food safety 
legislation, with the objective of highlig hting those areas most pertinent to Belize. 
5. We extend our appreciation to the European Co mmunities for this technical assistance but in 
particular are very grateful for the flexibility in  its delivery since throughout the process it has been 
recipient rather than donor driven. 
Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Accountability Seminar
 
 6. The Belize Agricultural Health Authority will be hosting a seminar on 5 November 2009 with 
the objective of updating stakeholders on the major achievements that Belize has obtained as a result 
of the implementation of SPS programmes at the national level and partic ipation in relevant G/SPS/GEN/980 
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  international fora, such as Codex, CPM, OIE and the SPS Committee meetings.  This seminar is being 
conducted in collaboration with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture and has 
been held on an annual basis for the past four years. 
Technical Assistance from Mexico
 
 
7. Belize would also like to acknowledge and th ank the Government of Mexico for the 
assistance being received for the strengthening of tw o specific surveillance pr ogrammes in plant and 
animal health. 
Assistance Received from the Standard Trade and Development Facility  
 
8. The Standards and Trade and Development Facility (STDF) assisted Belize with the 
participation of two of its delegates to the work shop on "The Use of Economic Analysis to Inform 
SPS Decision Making Decision" held during the week of 26-30 October 2009.  We extend our 
appreciation for the assistance received and for th e development of the DVD film "Trading Safely: 
Protecting Health, Promoting Development" which features the Med fly Surveillance Programme in 
Belize as one of the success stories.  This film h as been shown in Belize and has resulted in more 
support being garnered for the strengthening of the sanitary and phytosanitary capacity in our country. 
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