On 24 January 2018, the OIE Regional Representation in Moscow organised a first meeting in its new premises. In attendance were representatives from the Veterinary Services of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, comprising the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). They were joined by Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) leaders, and representatives of the OIE (both from OIE Headquarters in Paris and the Regional and Sub-Regional Representations), including Dr Jean-Philippe Dop, OIE Deputy Director General, and Dr Romano Marabelli, Special Advisor to the Director General of the OIE.

A  ‘Tentative Programme of activities to implement the Memorandum of Understanding between the OIE and the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) for the triennial period of 2018 to 2021’ was signed in December 2017 by Dr Monique Éloit, Director General of the OIE, and Mr Valery Koreshkov, Member of the Board (Minister) for Technical Regulation of the Eurasian Economic Commission. Mr Koreshkov, as well as Dr Evgeny Nepoklonov, Vice-Minister for Agriculture and Delegate of the Russian Federation to the OIE, have honoured the meeting of 24 January with their presence.

Participants discussed the inauguration of this Programme, which centres around activities designed to implement OIE standards in the EAEU. The primary aim is to eliminate foci of particularly dangerous animal diseases and, with this in mind, participants discussed issues related to integrating international standards and OIE recommendations into the legislation of the EAEU.

The meeting also provided an opportunity for participants to learn how to become more involved in the OIE’s standard-setting process at the regional level, thus making a significant contribution to animal health in this part of the world.