India to host international conference on 50th anniversary of Biological Weapons Convention

New Delhi [India], November 25 (ANI): In line with its strong commitment to disarmament and non-proliferation, India is organising an international conference next week to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Biological Weapons Convention, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

Experts from over 80 countries of the Global South and representatives of regional and international organisations will take part in the conference on December 1-2 at the Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X on Monday night.

"India is one of the 189 States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), a majority of them being developing countries. In line with its strong commitment to disarmament and non-proliferation, this conference is an initiative of the Government of India to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Convention's entry into force," the MEA said in a statement.

It highlighted that several discussions will take place to take stock of the contribution of the BWC to international peace and security, and also review the global developments since its entry into force.

"Through discussions with scientific experts, policy makers and diplomats from different countries and representatives from international and regional organisations, the event seeks to take stock of the contribution of the BWC to international peace and security, review the global developments since its entry into force, especially those in the sphere of public health governance following the COVID-19 pandemic, and outline its complementarities with multilateral export control regimes, such as the Australia Group. We will also explore the way forward to strengthen the BWC for addressing future challenges," the MEA said.

The statement added that the Global South bears a disproportionate impact of contemporary and rapidly evolving biosecurity and biosafety challenges that in turn have interlinkages with the commitments under the Convention. The panel discussions will highlight the challenges in different regional contexts and gaps in existing policy and institutional frameworks.

They will underscore the importance of the 'One Health' approach to tackling these complex biosecurity and biosafety challenges. The prospects for furthering international cooperation and strengthening biosecurity partnerships globally, particularly with the Global South, will be in focus, it said.

It further noted that the anniversary offers an opportune moment to reflect on the significance of new and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and synthetic biology, for life sciences. While these advancements have immense potential to bolster preparedness and response to public health emergencies, they also raise serious concerns regarding misuse, especially arising from access to non-state actors, and would reflect on the need for greater regulation and oversight. (ANI)

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