Kazakhstan and International Experts Discussed Ways to Enhance Cooperation in the Field of Biosecurity Under the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention

Almaty, October 14, 2025 — An international seminar titled “50th Anniversary of the BTWC: From Commitment to Action – the International Agency for Biological Security (IABS) Initiative” was held in Almaty, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The seminar was attended by leading local and international experts in the field of biosecurity, including representatives of the Implementation Support Unit of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), WHO, WOAH, FAO, as well as various academic institutions and think tanks.

Experts discussed pressing issues related to the implementation of the BTWC and exchanged views on the absence of an implementation body for the Convention. In this context, there was an extensive discussion on Kazakhstan’s initiative to establish the International Agency for Biological Security (IABS).

IABS aims to serve as an effective instrument to ensure the prohibition of biological weapons and to promote international cooperation for peaceful purposes in the field of biotechnology.

Kazakhstan actively and consistently advocates for disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction globally. In 2020, during the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed the establishment of the IABS based on the BTWC in order to fill the gap in the current disarmament architecture, where the BTWC remains the only disarmament treaty lacking an implementation body.