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This report provides an unofficial translation of Vietnam’s Prime Minister Decision 150/QD-TTg dated January 28, 2022, to approve the National Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy 2021-2030, vision to 2050.

Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE (GCC-4) permit the importation of GE food products of plant origin.

On February 16, 2022, the European Commission launched a four-week call for evidence on an upcoming report that will assess the rationale and legal feasibility of applying EU health and environmental standards to imported agricultural and agri-food products such as animal welfare standards, processes, and production methods.

On January 24 and 25, Cairo witnessed an important forum on climate change between Egypt and the United States within the framework of Egypt serving as the official host of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) taking place in November 2022 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

Climate change is an increasing challenge for Austrian agriculture and Austrian agricultural policy. The Austrian government tries to counteract the adverse effects of the climate change through specific climate protection programs and measures.

On January 24, 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) issued Guidelines for Safety Evaluation of Gene-Edited Plants for Agricultural Use (Trial), which for the first time establish application procedures and requirements for gene-edited plants.

On January 18, 2022, the European Commission launched a public consultation on biobased, biodegradable, and compostable plastics. Stakeholders have until March 15, 2022, to comment.

On January 10, 2022, the King of the Netherlands swore in the new Dutch Cabinet of twenty Ministers and nine State Secretaries. The new Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality is Henk Staghouwer. He is member of the Christian Union (CU), a protestant party, with a left wing orientation on environmental issues.

On January 7, 2022, the Turkish Government published Biosafety Decisions on the import of genetically engineered (GE) soybean and corn events. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MinAF) approved one new soybean event and one new corn event for feed and cancelled the approvals of two corn events which expired on 12/24/2021.

On December 27, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) announced the issuance of new and renewed biosafety certificates for genetically engineered (GE) events.

The Government of Argentina (GOA) approved three new Genetically Engineered (GE) events in 2021 (two corn events and one alfalfa).

From January 1, 2021, the UK has been responsible for authorizing products of genetic engineering (GE) using retained EU law. Nine GE crops are currently out for public consultation as part of the new UK approval process, with a similar number still pending.