RAZI INSTITUTE ATTENDED IN THE 9TH REVIEW CONFERENCE OF THE
BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (BWC) IN GENEVA

Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), as one of the most
important international documents related to disarmament and maintaining global
peace and security, not only pursues the prohibition of a whole range of
weapons of mass destruction but also seeks to strengthen and facilitate the
transfer and exchange of peaceful biological materials and technologies among
member countries. In this regard, the review conferences play a pivotal role in
decision-making debates and processes of the Convention and provide an
opportunity to review the non-discriminatory implementation of the provisions
of the Convention.

Razi institute has been present in this convention on behalf
of the Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization for nearly 4
decades and has presented its professional opinions in the area of research and
production of biological products along with other specialized centers and
institutions from the Ministry of Health and Medicine and the Ministry of
Science to the delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dr. Rainak Ghaderi, the head of international relations and
scientific communication of the Razi Institute, performed this mission with the
emphasis on the following principles:

Defending the performance of IR Iran by emphasizing Iran's
first position in the Middle East in production of peaceful biological products
"which includes the production of various animal and human vaccines, as
well as anti-scorpion and anti-snake sera", and as leading actor in
protecting the biological interests of the Middle East and neutralizing the
claims related to the dual-purpose nature of the equipment of the production
and research centers,

Assisting the country’s specialized commission in making the
denials in regards to transferring of biological materials, equipment and
technologies for peaceful purposes,

technical support to the diplomats of the country in
specialized negotiations in the field of infectious microbial agents,

Providing expert opinions related to Article 10 of the
Convention with the aim of strengthening international cooperation for peaceful
purposes, including scientific and technical exchanges, in order to reduce the
gap between member countries in the field of developing biological capabilities
in developing countries which are limited by developed countries,

Attending the side events of the 9th review conference and
being informed of the latest news and establishing effective communication with
experts and influential people in order to exchange knowledge and experiences
and enjoy the support of NGO groups that are members of the convention in
approving peaceful activities.

On the sidelines of this meeting, by the coordination of
ISU, the Genome Center, the advanced NGS genome sequencing laboratory located
in the Geneva Biotech Campus Biotechnology Park were visited. As part of this
mission, in coordination with the Department of Regulations and
Prequalification of the World Health Organization, a meeting was held in
regards to the inquiries of Razi institute with the WHO, key persons were
identified to follow up each item.

It is hoped that while claiming the country's position in
the 9th review meeting of the BWC convention and taking advantage of the
opportunity to communicate with the Biotech Campus and the WHO, valuable
achievements from this mission be constituted.