Armenia amended agreement with US in field of biological safety

ARMINFO
Armenia – June 3 2022
Naira Badalian

ArmInfo.rmenia has amended the agreement with the United States in the field of biological safety. On June 2, the Government of the Republic of Armenia approved the  signing of the protocol to the agreement "On cooperation in the  prevention of the dissemination of technologies, pathogens and  knowledge that can be used in the development of biological weapons",  signed in September 2010.

<The purpose of the agreement is to promote effective regulated  cooperation between the parties in this area. According to paragraph  5, Article 4 of the Agreement, the Armenian side undertakes to  transfer to the US Department of Defense the required samples of  dangerous pathogens that are collected in Armenia for preventive,  military and peaceful purposes. The agreement also provided for the  transfer of epidemiological data>, the document says.  It is noted  that, given the forthcoming adoption of the Comprehensive Law on  Biosafety and Biosecurity, which regulates the field of biological  safety and clearly establishes the absence of any obligations on the  state to transfer pathogen samples to any country, and also based on  the need to ensure a balanced policy with partners in the field of  biological security, it is proposed to amend paragraph 5 of Article  IV accordingly. "It should be noted that this is in line with the  foreign policy of the Republic of Armenia and the international  obligations assumed," the conclusion says.