Malaysia has warned that the existence of deadly biological and toxin weapons as well as their potential misuse constitute serious threats to international peace and security.
This was expressed by the Malaysian delegation at the meeting of experts of states party to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in Geneva, Switzerland yesterday.
According to a statement made available to Bernama by the Foreign Ministry here, Malaysia believed the threats were also growing with the rapid advancement in the field of science and technology.
Therefore, the statement said, there was a need for scientific and technological cooperation between states party to the convention to fight against infectious diseases and to address the threats of bio-terrorism.
"We are of the view that we must develop oversight frameworks for bio-security. We must also develop preparedness efforts to detect and respond to potential bio-threats," said the statement.
In this regard, Malaysia will be conducting a workshop entitled "Collaboration Across Sectors to Prepare for and Respond to Biological Incidents" that will be held from Aug. 19-22 in Melaka.
The workshop is in collaboration with the United States Department of Defence through the established Cooperative Biological Engagement Programme (CBEP), of the Defence Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) of the United States, in the field of biosecurity.
The statement said Malaysia will be hosting the Biological Weapons Convention Regional Workshop for South and Southeast Asia that will be held in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 3 and 4.
This regional workshop is in collaboration with the European Union (EU) Council's decision in Support of the Biological Weapons Convention at the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs in Geneva and the BWC Implementation Support Unit. - Philippines News Agency
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