OECD officials responsible for the relevant OECD programmes of work will be present to answer questions. Journalists unable to attend the seminar in person can arrange to listen in on specially dedicated telephone lines. At the OECD's annual Council meeting at ministerial level in Paris on 26-27 May , OECD Ministers discussed the policy issues raised by biotechnology. These issues will be discussed further at the forthcoming CSTP ministerial meeting of OECD Science and Technology Ministers in Paris on 22-23 June. Ministers stressed the importance of safeguarding human health and the environment while enabling people to enjoy the benefits that flow from advances in biotechnology.
Scientific research is essential to the process.
Responding to this mandate, the OECD Secretariat is involved in ongoing work in a number of areas. Bio-resource centres gather and maintain both the physical collections of microbial cultures and cell lines and the closely related electronic databases containing the details of genomic sequences and other information. The key policy issue for the OECD and many Member countries is whether international co-operation can contribute to the viability of such centres, promote their effective utilisation and conserve resources. Recently, the OECD has published a synthesis of national intellectual property practices in the field of biotechnology. The report presents information from 22 Member countries, the European Commission and the European Patent Office.