Tehran, Iran
April 26, 2006
Source:
Islamic Republic News Agency
via
The Meridian
Institute's Food Security and Ag-Biotech News
Delegates to an April 22-24 expert
group meeting of the
Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), held in Tehran,
Iran have agreed to establish a regional Agricultural
Biotechnology Network (ECO-ABN) within two years.
ECO is a regional
intergovernmental organization established in 1985 by Iran,
Pakistan, and Turkey for the purpose of promoting economic,
technical, and cultural cooperation.
ECO-ABN would promote research
partnerships, capacity building, and regulatory harmonization
among ECO member states in the agricultural biotechnology.
ECO Secretary General Askhat
Orazbay spoke at the ECO expert group meeting, saying that
agricultural biotechnology may provide a significant step
forward in efforts to increase yields, improve nutrition, and
ensure the sustainability of fragile agricultural ecosystems.
The meeting identified the
following areas for the implementation of joint research
projects under ECO-ABN:
- the production of
virus-free potato micro-tubers and their propagation;
- the preparation of a "Plan
of Action" for the development/harmonization of biosafety
regulations in the ECO region;
- intellectual property
rights in biotechnology; and
- capacity building, for
example establishing basic laboratories and training staff
in the member states.
The
Agricultural Biotechnology
Research Institute of Iran (ABRII) will act as a Regional
Coordination Unit during the network's establishment phase. The
article can be viewed online at
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-16/0604252193174521.htm
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