External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar today called for urgent global reforms to strengthen biosecurity and fortify the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).
The Minister said this while addressing the Conference on 50 Years of the Biological Weapons Convention: Strengthening Biosecurity for the Global South in New Delhi.
Dr Jaishankar noted that scientific advances are rapidly outpacing existing global governance frameworks, posing new risks for international security.
He added that the convention remains the guardrail between innovation and misuse in the life sciences in an uncertain international security environment.
Highlighting the transnational nature of biological threats, Dr Jaishankar said, international cooperation must remain central to any effective response, as threats move quickly and cross borders easily.
He further underlined India’s proposal for a National Implementation Framework, covering identification of high-risk agents, oversight of dual-use research, domestic reporting, incident management and continuous training.
The External Affairs Minister emphasised India’s role as a global health leader.
He outlined five key strengths of the country, stating that India makes 60 per cent of the world’s vaccines and supplies over 20 per cent of global generic medicines. He added that 60 per cent of Africa’s generics also come from India.
The Minister also underlined that India is home to nearly 11 thousand biotech startups making it the third-largest biotech startup ecosystem worldwide.
