Delegations from CIHEAM Member States meet in Paris for the 157th Governing Board meeting
Paris, 11 July 2025 - The CIHEAM Governing Board was held on 10 and 11 July 2025 at the organisation's headquarters in Paris, bringing together delegations from the Member States and observer organisations (OECD and Council of Europe) to discuss the organisation's main strategic guidelines and review the activities of the General Secretariat and the four Institutes (Bari, Chania, Montpellier and Zaragoza).
The meeting marked the first appearance of Mr Maurizio Raeli, as Italy's new delegate to the CIHEAM, and of Mr Biagio Di Terlizzi, recently appointed Director of the CIHEAM Bari.
The members of the Board welcomed CIHEAM's efforts to implement the priorities of the 2030 Strategic Plan in response to the growing challenges facing agricultural and food systems and in the field of cooperation in the Mediterranean.
The launch of the Méta BEANS network, dedicated to scientific and varietal cooperation on legumes, and the strengthening of the SFS-MED platform were particularly highlighted.
The members also supported the ‘Ambassadors in Dialogue - Mediterranean Forum’ initiative, the first edition of which was held in Paris in May, bringing together representatives of the Member States and regional partners.
The Board commended the work undertaken to strengthen internal management, transparency, information security policy and administrative procedures. It noted the launch of a Diversity & Inclusion programme within the organisation and the development of new collaborations with the United Nations University (UNU) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
On the proposal of the Scientifique Advisory Board, the delegates also approved the award of the CIHEAM 2024 Prize for the best thesis to Mr Oussama Khaled (Morocco), for his innovative work on the estimation of agricultural evapotranspiration using hyperspectral remote sensing and artificial intelligence.
Finally, the members were informed of the forthcoming organisation of a major event in Lebanon: the CIHEAM Lebanese Alumni Meeting, scheduled to take place in Beirut at the end of September 2025, in partnership with the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture. This meeting, entitled ‘Investing in youth for sustainable agri-food systems: linking training, employment and sectoral priorities’, will aim to strengthen the network of CIHEAM's Lebanese alumni, celebrate the organisation's 63rd anniversary and encourage a new dynamic around young people's involvement in agriculture.