The Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan called on African countries to support the creation of an International Agency for Biological Safety

Addis Ababa, April 28, 2023 - Exploring the possibilities of developing cooperation between Kazakhstan and African countries in the field of pharmaceuticals and biosafety, Ambassador of Kazakhstan Permanent Representative to the African Union Barlybay Sadykov took part in «The Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing» Forum (PAVM), held at the headquarters of the African Union Commission.

The Forum was attended by Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa, Deputy Chairperson (DCP) for the AU Commission, Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), representatives of the AU member states, partner countries, 15 leading pharmaceutical companies in Africa, analytical and research institutes.

During the Forum, B. Sadykov made an address in which he noted the special role of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the African Union Commission in achieving the goals of the Forum, which are to meet 60% of all vaccine needs in Africa by 2040. The Ambassador of Kazakhstan stressed the need to expand global access to vaccines and reported on the contribution of Kazakhstan, which has developed its own vaccine QazVac (QazCovid-in) against COVID-19. In this regard, he elaborated on the possibilities of cooperation between the Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Addis Ababa.

In addition, the Kazakh diplomat drew special attention of the participants to the problem of biological safety in the world. He addressed to the AU member states to make collective efforts to prevent biological disasters and crises in the future. B.Sadykov recalled the proposal of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to create an International Agency for Biological Safety (IABS) and invited African countries to join this initiative.

In general, the Forum participants discussed various issues of coordinating the activities of member states, partners and bodies of the African Union for the production of vaccines in Africa.