As of 2005, the countries assigned to the FAO’s Near East region for executive council election purposes are: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, UAE, Yemen. However, the FAO Regional Office for the Near East defines the region more broadly for the purpose of undertaking activities and projects. The broader regional definition includes all the countries listed above, plus Algeria, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Tunisia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.

Sources: Ross B. Talbot, Historical Dictionary of the International Food Agencies: FAO, WFP, WFC, IFAD (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1994), 41; “FAO Member Nations by Region for Council Election Purposes,” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, http://www.fao.org/unfao/govbodies/membernations_reg_en.asp; “About RNE,” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, http://www.fao.org/world/regional/rne/aboutus/aboutus_en.htm