From January 20 to 22, a seminar on the implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) was held in Ashgabat. Organized with the support of the OSCE, the seminar aimed at strengthening national capacity for the effective implementation of the Convention and enhancing interagency coordination.

Participants in the seminar include representatives of law enforcement agencies, border guards and the healthcare system, including experts from academia.

The opening session of the seminar was attended by the Acting Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, a representative of the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan, the Chargé d'Affaires of the British Embassy in Ashgabat, the Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Turkmenistan and a representative of the BTWC Chief Inspectorate.

Participants were given practical training on preparing annual confidence-building measures reports and were introduced to opportunities for international assistance and cooperation to further strengthen biosafety systems.

The seminar was organized in partnership with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) through the BTWC Implementation Support Unit (ISU), in close cooperation with the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, the Forum for Security Co-operation Support Unit of the OSCE Secretariat and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, within the framework of the OSCE Centre’s extra-budgetary project “Strengthening the Capacities of the State Border Service of Turkmenistan”, with financial support from the United Kingdom and the European Union.