The 12th Annual Meeting was hosted by The Association of Finnish Pharmacies in Helsinki. Finland. Excellent meeting facilities, good food and interesting programmes helped make both the Annual Meeting and the Professional Development Day events a success.

Starting with an informal reception hosted by the Association of Finnish Pharmacies at their premises in Helsinki, Dr Klaus Holttinen (photo left), President of the Association, made everyone feel welcome by addressing the assembled participants to which the Forum's Vice-president Herbert Cabana reciprocated.

The General Assembly of the 12th Annual Meeting convened in the Finlandia Hall on 11 October with 70 representatives attending from 27 European countries, plus representatives from 6 Observer organizations.  During the business part of the assembly the Forum members approved a declaration about Pharmacists and public health, mainly based on the discussions at the Professional Development Day. The professional part of the assembly consisted of three project workshops on Ask about your medicines, HIV/AIDS and Smoking Cessation, as well as a separate workshop on disease management which covered projects on Asthma Services, Diabetes Care and Hypertension Management.