In spite of the tragic events in the region, the Symposium was a success since it attracted approximately 120 participants, mostly local patent attorneys,lawyers and representatives of pharmaceutical industries but also practitioners from Eastern Europe and the Arab Countries.The opening ceremony started with short welcome addresses from Mrs.Hoda Serageldine, President of the Egyptian Group and Mr. Sherif Saadallah,Director, Cooperation for Development Bureau for Arab Countries (WIPO), who underlined the issues to be discussed during the symposium. H.E. Dr. Mufid Shehab, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research gave a veryenlightening presentation on the historical development of Egyptian Law on matters of intellectual property which was well received by the audience and reproduced in three leading daily newspapers the second day.In the first working session, Mr. Antony Taubman, Acting Director and Head, Traditional Knowledge Division (WIPO), gave a summary of the WIPO Patent Agenda. Dr. Hossam Loutfy of Shalakani Law Firm, Egypt, highlighted the public health issues under the Doha Declaration and Mrs. Esmee Du Plessis of Adams & Adams (South Africa) focused on compulsory licensing and public health in the developing countries.In the afternoon session, the first speaker, Mr. Taubman indicated that traditional knowledge is inherent to culture. It is very local in character and bound to a community. While genetic resources are defined under several international instruments there is no universally recognized definition for traditional knowledge.