Mr. F H Abed, Founder and Chairperson of BRAC and President of BU Governing Board, attended the Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to celebrate the International Year of Rice from September 15-17, 2004 in Seoul, Republic of Korea. He also attended the International Rice Science Conference in Seoul on September 13-15, 2004. Earlier, Mr. Abed visited Afghanistan from September 1-6, 2004. During his visit to Afghanistan Mr. Abed had meetings with Afghanistan Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) and Minister of Health. He also met the Governor of Mazar-e-Sharif, Chancellor of Kabul University, Governor of Afghanistan Bank, and Ms. Amira Haque, Chief of UNAMA.