Stephane Passeri

UN Food and Agriculture Organization

International Consultant on Geographical Indications - Regional Team Leader

Stephane has been in Thailand for 26 years and is a renown international expert on the development Geographical Indications (GI) for the protection and promotion of origin-linked food, agriculture and handicrafts products.

He has contributed to the development of Intellectual Property Rights, and GI national systems in particular, through the Promotion of Rural Development through the Development of Geographical Indications (GI) at Regional Level in Asia-Pacific, as well as coordinated cooperation activities in the region (i.e. Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Philippines, Indonesia, Iran, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Papua New Guinea Pakistan and Japan).

He is currently International Consultant and Regional Team Leader for Geographical Indications at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok. In 2017, Mr. Passeri was awarded by the French Government, the title of Knight of Order of the Agricultural Merit for his long-term achievement on Agriculture Promotion.

Previous to his current functions, Stephane had been, back to back, Commercial Attaché at the French Embassy in Thailand and Intellectual Property Regional Coordinator in Asia-Pacific for the French Ministry of Finance, Economy and Industry, representing the French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), then Administrator and later Director of EU-ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Co-operation Programmes as well as Member of the Board of Directors and elected Chairman of the IPR Working Group of the European Association for Business and Commerce (EABC) in Thailand with the objective of contributing towards improvement of European trade and investment to Thailand and ASEAN.