Headed by His Excellency Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, the National Biosecurity Committee held its first meeting for 2019 to review latest updates of the National Biosecurity Strategy action plan.
Committee members explored the achieved goals of the strategy and addressed the outcomes and recommendations of its second meeting for held in 2018, where Committee members explored the achieved goals of the strategy and discussed the Laboratory Biosecurity Manual, the second issue of the Biological Waste Management Handbook.
Members viewed the early biosecurity notification system, which aims to provide reports on disease outbreaks, agricultural pests control and food safety alerts in the country, as well as establishing electronic communication links among stakeholders, which represents an important stage in the implementation of the objectives of the National Biosecurity Strategy.
Members also discussed preparations for the 4th Biosecurity Conference, to be held in October 2019 under the theme "Sustainable Biosecurity" and will involve the youth in discussions about biosecurity and artificial intelligence. The conference is expected to convene a wide local and international participation.
His Excellency Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi emphasized that this meeting is a key element in the National Committee’s efforts to implement the National Biosecurity Strategy, adopted by the UAE Cabinet in 2013 under the theme "Integrated Biosecurity", particularly in regard to building financial and human capacities.
Dr Al Zeyoudi said: “The National Biosecurity Committee has devised the strategy to enhance biosecurity through issuing and updating legislations and laws, building capabilities for detecting biological hazards and dealing with incidents and biological threats that will adversely affect the UAE community as well as the political, economic and tourism sectors.”
He added that the strategy focuses on collaboration and coordination among all relevant entities across every stage in addressing biological hazards. In addition, it focuses on the importance of attracting and qualifying the national workforce and ensuring effective community engagement, to achieve the objectives of the UAE Vision 2021 in building integrated biosecurity mechanisms that enhance the UAE’s overall safety and security.