The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Government of Brazil have invited major biotechnology players from the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region to the LAC Regional Consultative Meeting to be held in Brasilia, Brazil on 22-25 July 2003. It is the second of four regional meetings to be held in preparation for the UNIDO Global Biotechnology Forum, that takes place in Concepciَn, Chile on 2-5 March 2004. The Brasilia meeting addresses what biotechnology has to offer the region and the major challenges ahead and looks at a number of specific issue areas, such as those relating to biodiversity, biosafety and intellectual property rights. See the background document and other information about the meeting at http://binas.unido.org/global_forum/html/Latin_A_Rio.html or contact [email protected] for more information.

27/06/2003