On February 25, 2026, a seminar on the National Biosafety Framework and the implementation of the international obligations of the Kyrgyz Republic was held in Bishkek. The organizer was the Biosafety Resource Center public foundation with the support of the BioBridge initiative, representing the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The main topic of the meeting was the further development of the Biosafety Resource Center, which will eventually become a Coordination Resource Center under the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology, and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Institute of Biotechnology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, taking into account the experience of the Republic of Belarus.

Experts and government representatives discussed mechanisms for monitoring the cross-border movement of biotechnological products, risk management, and ensuring the transparency of these processes. Participants were presented with a draft website for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety—an open source of information for the government and the public. The following speakers presented their papers:

– Abdimital Chyngozhoev on the management, monitoring, and risks associated with GMOs

– Namazbek Abdykerimov on the state of the country's laboratory capacity for detecting and identifying GMOs

– Maral Sagynalieva on the socioeconomic risks of using GMOs in mountain ecosystems

Following the meeting, a decision was made to establish a Biosafety Resource Center at the Institute of Biotechnology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology, and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic. This agreement will be formalized by a Memorandum of Understanding between the Institute of Biotechnology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology, and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Biosafety Resource Center. Developed with reference to the experience of Belarus, the document defines the Center as a comprehensive, specialized unit on biosafety issues. The new structure will serve as a scientific and methodological center and will:

– provide expert support to government agencies in developing biosafety regulations in accordance with the Cartagena Protocol

– implement modern methods for assessing risks to the environment and public health

– create national biosafety databases

– organize training for government officials and scientific leaders

– strengthen Kyrgyzstan's international cooperation in the field of biosafety

The seminar participants emphasized that the creation of the Center is an important step toward protecting biodiversity, public health, and food security in the country, as well as fulfilling the international obligations of the Kyrgyz Republic. The seminar was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology, and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Institute of Biotechnology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Institute of Biology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Institute of Chemistry and Phytotechnology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture, and Processing Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Ministry of Economy and Trade of the Kyrgyz Republic, and non-governmental organizations.

 

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