Russia, Central Asian nations reaffirm commitment to biosecurity partnership
According to the statement, the Central Asian countries and Russia will support joint research and the development of medications
ASTANA, October 14. /TASS/. Central Asian nations and Russia maintain a biosecurity partnership in order to strengthen the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, the leaders of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan said in a joint statement following a Central Asia - Russia summit on Friday.
"We will work to ensure the rapid improvement of our national systems in the digital transformation of healthcare using the latest advancements and experience of our countries. We will continue to actively boost cooperation in developing joint national telemedicine systems," the statement reads. "We reaffirm our commitment to enhancing international cooperation in the field of biological security in order to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention," the parties added.
According to the statement, the Central Asian countries and Russia will support joint research and the development of medications. In addition, the parties will continue collaborating in order to provide training to medical personnel at leading educational and research institutions.
"We are confident that in today’s world, it is impossible to ensure epidemiological well-being in isolation. We highlight the importance of further efforts to strengthen a collective system to monitor and promptly respond to sanitary and epidemiological emergencies. We will also continue to pool our efforts to enhance national systems designed to prevent new infections from spreading," the statement added.
The Central Asia - Russia summit took place in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana on Friday. It was the first such meeting of its kind, marking the 30th anniversary of Russia’s diplomatic relations with the five Central Asian nations.