<p>The Global Forum Steering Committee held its fourth meeting in Washington on the 24th and 25th of October 1998. The meeting was chaired by Dr. R. S. Paroda and was open to observers on October 24th while a closed session took place on October 25th . The open session was intended to allow effective interaction between a range of GFAR members while the closed session was devoted to decisions on management and policy issues critical for the development of the GFAR.