Kazakhstan, China expand biosafety research cooperation

Kazakhstan and China have deepened their collaboration in biosafety research with the inauguration of the Center for One Health Research at the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University (KazNARU). This new joint scientific platform will facilitate studies in biosafety, microbiology, veterinary medicine, and public health.

According to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan, the center was established under the National Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan in partnership with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The primary objective of this research hub is to conduct collaborative scientific investigations aligned with the One Health concept, biosafety, microbiology, veterinary medicine, and public health, while also fostering greater cooperation between research institutions in both nations.

The opening ceremony saw the attendance of several notable figures, including Akhylbek Kurishbayev, President of the National Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan; Gao Fu, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Li Xiaoming, Vice President of Zhejiang University; and various representatives from research institutions, scientists, and experts from both Kazakhstan and China.

During the event, a four-party memorandum of cooperation was signed by the National Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan, the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhejiang University, and KazNARU. This agreement outlines provisions for joint research projects, academic mobility programs for researchers, faculty, and students, and an expansion of cooperation in biosafety, microbiology, and the One Health approach.

The ministry stated that the center will function as an international scientific platform for collaborative Kazakh-Chinese research and scientific exchange. Its core areas of focus will encompass infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, food safety, and biological safety. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan emphasized that the establishment of this center marks a new phase in scientific cooperation between the two countries, aiming to bolster research infrastructure to address challenges concerning human, animal, and environmental health.