77. The Acting Chairman of the meeting called upon Mr. W.M.A. Wijeratna Banda, President of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries for the Adoption of an Agreement on NACA, to report on the proceedings of the said Conference. (The Agreement as adopted by the Conference appears as Annex XIII.)
78. Mr. Wijeratna Banda stated that although 35 governments had been invited to attend the Conference, only 12 had done so. While two of NACA's participating governments had not been present, it was encouraging to note that three non-participating governments had attended the Conference, the main purpose of which was the adoption of an Agreement for NACA.
79. The Conference finalized and adopted the Agreement, which was thereafter signed by two of the Governments present. The Agreement will be kept open for signature by other Governments at the FAO Headquarters in Rome up to 7 January 1989. With the adoption of the Agreement, the legal framework for the establishment of NACA as an inter-governmental organization had been finalized.
80. The Conference entrusted the funding mechanism of NACA to the Governing Council envisaged in the Agreement.
81. In conclusion, Mr. Wijeratna Banda appealed to the participating Governments to sign the Agreement and to persuade others in the Asia-Pacific Region to follow suit.
