The conference Biotechnology and Sustainable Development: Voices of the South and North, under the auspices of Dr. Yousef Wali Deputy Prime Minister of Egypt, was well attended. Participation included many international figures of prominence such as the Secretary general of OECD, and Federico Mayor, Gordon Conway, Rudy Rabbinge, Marc van Montagu, and Magdy Madkour, Adel Beltagy, Jennifer Thompson, and Ismail Serageldin among other notables.