In March 2021, following a request from FAO Pakistan, the European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD), in collaboration with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), organised a virtual training course focused on ‘Safe Trade and FMD’ for Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. This was one of a series of training courses developed and conducted jointly by the OIE and EuFMD.

The objective of the course was to assist participating Members in understanding the importance of safe trade with a focus on FMD and the use of the OIE standards to facilitate the safe trade of animals and animal products, in line with the principles of the World Trade Organisation Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement). As part of the course, concepts on zoning and the process for OIE official recognition of FMD status were also discussed.

The workshop was conducted with an integrated approach, comprising an induction phase (online v-learning), followed by a virtual workshop involving live sessions with trainers from the EuFMD and OIE. Over 60 participants from the veterinary services, trade experts from the public services, private sector and academia took part in the virtual training course, identifying their respective country situation with respect to FMD and international trade in animals and animal products, approaches to overcoming trade barriers and mitigating risks and further work necessary to enhance opportunities for safe trade. The training allowed for active exchanges with participants to discuss key aspects of the implementation of OIE international standards.