From 20 to 22 January, a seminar on the implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention, organised with the support of the OSCE, was held in Ashgabat. The event was aimed at strengthening national capacity and developing inter-agency cooperation, according to the news website Turkmenportal.

The seminar was attended by representatives of law enforcement and border control agencies, the health care system and the academic community. Participants underwent practical training in preparing annual reports on confidence-building measures and discussed opportunities for international cooperation in the field of biosafety.

The seminar was held in partnership with the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) through the Biological Weapons Convention Implementation Support Unit, with the participation of OSCE structures and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, and was implemented as part of an extrabudgetary project of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat with financial support from the United Kingdom and the European Union.