Ismail Serageldin was invited to a meeting hosted by the Secretary-General Kofi Annan with leading figures from life science, industry, government, international institutions and civil society at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The meeting followed the Secretary-General’s November 18 speech in St. Gallen, Switzerland where he raised the idea of a global forum that considers how to expand the benefits of biotechnology and life science research, as well as how to develop a global framework to mitigate potential risks.