April
29, 2014
The UAE Ministry of
Environment and Water (MoEW) opened today (Monday, April 28, 2014),
the country’s first conference on Bio-Security at the Al Bustan
Rotana Hotel in Dubai. The dynamic two-day event is expected to be
attended by more than 120 participants from government and local
authorities like the Ministry of Interior; Ministry of Higher
Education; Ministry of Health; the Armed Forces; National Emergency,
Crisis and Disaster Management Authority; The General Authority for
the Security of Ports, Borders and Free Zones; the Federal Customs
Authority; local environmental authorities; Municipalities and
experts from international organizations like the World Health
Organization (WHO); the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and
universities from the United States of America and Canada.
The MoEW is
organizing the conference as part of their collective efforts to
implement the national strategy for Bio-Security as adopted by the
UAE Cabinet of Ministers in 2013, which aims to establish an
integrated Bio-Security system in the UAE and contribute to
strengthening the country's safety and security, which represents a
fundamental pillar in UAE Vision 2021.
On this occasion,
His Excellency Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, Minister of Environment
and Water, said that the UAE has maintained a strategic international
and regional position across various sectors and is considered one of
the main centers of global commerce and an important cross border for
passengers and cargo transport--especially since the country will be
hosting Expo 2020. This requires keeping up with the requirements of
the control and monitoring of biological materials, which pushes the
UAE to work in a full capacity for the application of the national
strategy for Bio-Security, according to specified timeframes and
international best practices for the development of national
consciousness in response to these risks.
His Excellency
added: "Strengthening the control of these procedures and their
eventual responses will play an essential role in preventing risks
while also reducing negative effects. The UAE National Strategy for
Bio-security is based on three main areas--reducing the risk of
biological agents, natural or human, deliberate or unintentional;
building the capacity to detect the presence of biological risks and
to deal with accidents of various kinds."
He further
added that: "the conference is an important platform for
knowledge and expertise exchange in the Bio-Security segment. The
significance of this pioneering event lies in focusing on the
segment's emerging issues, the identification of new challenges and
the role of legislation in monitoring and evaluating these biological
risks. It also plays an important role in strengthening the capacity
and knowledge in the field of bio-security, and building a safe
community in order to strengthen the international position of the
UAE and to maintain the levels of social well-being of the
residents".
At the same
time, a comprehensive review of legislation and laws related to
Bio-Security in the UAE on both federal and local levels is currently
being undertaken, in order to take the needed actions to develop and
propose the necessary additional legislation in the light of the
national and international developments.
