UAE participates in meeting of ‘States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention’.

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The UAE participated in the annual meeting of the "States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention," through a delegation led by Brigadier Mohammed Suhail Al Niyadi, Director-General of the Office of Weapons, Ammunition, Explosives and Military Equipment.

Obaid Salem Al Zaabi, UAE Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, delivered a speech during the meeting that thanked the president of the meeting and the convention’s support unit, which has worked hard to implement it and monitor the confidence-building measures that the UAE is keen to promote.

Al Zaabi called for the strengthening of these measures because they express the commitment of relevant countries to the agreement and its standards while affirming that achieving internationalism also requires greater efforts, especially on a regional level.

He then praised the organization of the "Regional Workshop about Science and Technology for the Middle East and North Africa," which was held in the Jordanian capital, Amman, on 11th and 12th July, 2018, while noting that the UAE, as a major international centre for trade and a transportation hub for passengers and goods, which is required to control the transportation of biological materials, formed the "National Committee for Biological Security" in 2012, which is a main pillar of the "UAE Vision 2021."

He added that the country has monitored scientific and technological developments that are relevant to the agreement while pointing out that it aims to achieve overall biological security, as per the outcomes of the "8th Demonstrative Conference" of the agreement, which aimed to limit natural or man-made intentional or unintentional biological risks, reveal the presence of biological risks, and deal with all types of biological accidents and threats.

Al Zaabi noted that the UAE has organized many events, including the "UAE 3rd Biosecurity Conference" in 2017, which was held under the theme, "Biosecurity is Everyone’s Responsibility," and witnessed the participation of many international organizations and the country’s ministries, government authorities, municipalities and local authorities. It also addressed a series of key local and international issues, such as the role of international organizations in strengthening and building financial and human capabilities related to safety and biosecurity on civilian and military levels, he further added.