PRESS RELEASE

A new EU-funded project on biosafety and biosecurity meeting for Kazakhstan

On 30 January 2017, an informative meeting of an EU-funded project worth 5 million euros was successfully conducted in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan. The event was organized by the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) with the aim to invite Republic of Kazakhstan to join the implementation of the project. The meeting was opened by Mr. A. Turebayev, Deputy Executive Director, and Mr. Visser, P53-project manager, both from the ISTC and Ms. S. Satabayeva, team leader of the EU team of experts.

The objective of this project, denominated P53, is to provide specialized training on bio-safety and bio-security in Central Asian countries and to strengthen the relevant national legal framework. In this respect, it will help participating countries to fulfil their international obligations to harmonize national bio-safety and bio-security legal frameworks with the World Health Organisation’s International Health Regulation (WHO IHR), Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and Codex Alimentarius food safety laws. Furthermore, P53 aims to assist raising local bio-safety and bio-security training to international standards, while stimulating regional cooperation on relevant issues. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, Committee on Consumer rights Protection - Ministry of National Economy, Ministry of Health and Social Development, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Education and Science, and the Ministry of Energy and other relevant agencies, organizations and universities.

The project was conceived and funded within the framework of the EU CBRN CoE (www.cbrn-coe.eu) initiative. The CoE currently covers 8 regions and 54 partner countries. The EU CBRN CoE Secretariat for Central Asia is based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It works in partnership with countries to encourage local ownership of CBRN action plans, policies and joint preparation of regional project proposals.

The ISTC, implementer of P53, has funded and managed several hundred projects in Central Asia over the past 20 years. Technical expertise to implement P53 is provided by a UK-led consortium (SCJS) of international legislative experts (VERTIC), and bio-safety and bio-security training experts (PHE, RIVM).

www.istc.int     www.sjcs.eu    www.vertic.org   www.rivm.nl/en www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england