Exploring the possibilities of developing cooperation between Kazakhstan and African countries in the field of pharmaceuticals and biosafety, Ambassador of Kazakhstan in Ethiopia, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the African Union Barlybay Sadykov took part in Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing Forum (PAVM), held at the headquarters of the African Union Commission, El.kz cites MFA.
The Forum was attended by Monique Nsanzabaganwa, Deputy Chairperson for the AU Commission, Jean Kaseya, Director General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, representatives of the AU member states, partner countries, 15 leading pharmaceutical companies in Africa, analytical and research institutes.
During the Forum, Ambassador Sadykov in his remarks noted the special role of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the African Union Commission in achieving the goals of the Forum, which are to meet 60% of all vaccine needs in Africa by 2040. Kazakh Ambassador stressed the need to expand global access to vaccines and reported on the contribution of Kazakhstan, which has developed its own QazVac vaccine (QazCovid-in) against COVID-19. In this regard, he elaborated on the possibilities of cooperation between the Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Addis Ababa.
In addition, Kazakh diplomat drew special attention of the participants to the problem of biological safety in the world, and addressed to the AU member states to make collective efforts to prevent biological disasters and crises in the future. Sadykov recalled the proposal of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to create an International Agency for Biological Safety (IABS) and invited African countries to join this initiative.
In general, the Forum participants discussed various issues of coordinating the activities of member states, partners and bodies of the African Union for the production of vaccines in Africa.