Madam Chairperson,
Strengthening international cooperation is rightly one of the most important elements in fulfilling the goals and objectives of the Convention, which is why the Russian Federation pays the most serious attention to the implementation of Article X of the BTWC.
The main principles of the Russian Federation’s participation in the implementation of Article X programs are openness and transparency and the focus on the development of national capacities of partner countries. We believe that the implementation of this article of the Convention should be based on the principle of observing the interests of the recipients of assistance and improving their ability to identify and respond to threats of a biological nature. We call on the other States Parties to the BTWC to follow the same approaches.
In 2020-2021, the COVID-19 pandemic was a factor that had a significant impact on the development of international co-operation. From the very beginning of its spread, the Russian Federation offered assistance to all interested states, was the first country in the world to register vaccines against COVID-19 and is the only country that transfers the technology for their production. Russian vaccines have been registered in 70 countries worldwide.
We continue to consistently cooperate and assist countries in different regions of the world also on prevention, response to biological threats and prevention of infectious diseases. Over the past 6 years we have supplied hundreds of units of laboratory equipment to more than 60 countries, tens of thousands of consumables and diagnostic test systems made in Russia, trained more than 3.5 thousand specialists on the issues of biological safety and laboratory diagnostics. We focus on the implementation of the International Health Regulations, improving preparedness and response to epidemics. We provide assistance in ensuring biological safety and sanitary protection of territories, increasing research capacity to improve monitoring and forecasting of infectious diseases, maintaining sanitary and epidemiological well-being in emergency situations with the use of mobile anti-epidemic formations.
The pandemic has confirmed the demand for mobile laboratories in counteracting biological threats and the prospect of creating such an effective tool as medical-biological units in the BWC format.
The Russian mobile laboratories are unique and advanced developments. First put “into service” in 1965, today, after several stages of modernization, mobile laboratories of Rospotrebnadzor are an indispensable tool in preventing and eliminating outbreaks of infections. With all necessary equipment and trained personnel, mobile laboratories based on Kamaz and GAZ chassis and pneumatic tents can solve large-scale tasks of maintaining sanitary and epidemiological well-being anywhere in the country and the world. High class biological protection laboratories are mobile and autonomous, they perform tests of hundreds and thousands of samples of biological material, water, air, food without any threat to personnel.
Mobile laboratories created in Russia are used in Vietnam, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Guinea, DRC, Uzbekistan. Requests have been received from Venezuela, Burundi, the Republic of Congo, and Uganda. During the last five years, the Russian Federation has transferred 25 mobile laboratories to nine states.
Despite the pandemic, the Russian Federation has continued to develop cooperation in other areas of infectious disease control. Among the many specific programs implemented by the Russian Federation in 2020-2021 are:
– Providing support to combat the spread of plague in Central and East Asian countries;
– countering the development of antimicrobial resistance in Eastern Europe and Central Asia;
– donation of equipment for mobile complex of specialized anti-epidemic teams of Rospotrebnadzor;
– providing support in combating HIV and other infectious diseases in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia;
– cooperation with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Republic of Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Since 2014, Russia’s total contribution to assistance to partners in the above areas amounted to about 5 billion rubles on a bilateral basis and more than $40 million through programs of specialized international organizations.
Thank you for your attention.
