Biological Convention's Eighth Review Conference started in Geneva

ASTANA. KAZINFORM On November 7, 2016 the Eighth Review Conference of the signatory states of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction started in Geneva, Kazinform refers to the MFA's press service.

Kazakhstan delegation included the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education and Science as well as the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan in Geneva.

In his address to the participants at the General Debates on November 8, 2016 Yerbolat Sembayev, Ambassador-at-Large of the Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry, highlighted that for more than 40 years the Convention has been the key instrument in ensuring international safety.

The Diplomat informed the audience about the international cooperation of Kazakhstan with the leading countries in the field biotechnologies, where a particular attention is paid to the elimination of biological threats.

As Sembayev underlined, "development of efficient and coordinated mechanisms of verification is a guarantee that the BTWC provisions are followed and that the regime of prohibition of biological and toxin weapons functions properly. This situation demands the development of a legally binding verification mechanism".

The Review Conference is held every five years and is a Supreme decision-making body of the Convention. The event will last until November 25, 2016.