The third congress reflected in the foreign media
These articles are part of the Crop Biotech Update, a weekly summary of world developments in agri-biotech for developing countries, produced by the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology, International Service for the Aquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications SEAsiaCenter (ISAAA)
These articles are part of the Crop Biotech Update, a weekly summary of world developments in agri-biotech for developing countries, produced by the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology, International Service for the Aquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications SEAsiaCenter (ISAAA)
Rationality Dictates Us Not to Avoid Any New Technology, says HE Rafsanjani
The President of the "Expediency Council of Iran", His Excellency Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani in his message during the official inauguration ceremony of the Iran Biotechnology Information Center (IRBIC) said that "it is not rational to avoid any new and useful technology" referring to modern biotechnology and the use of genetically modified crops.
Considering biotechnology as a new knowledge and technology that is one of the valuable successes of mankind, he told the scientific community that "The speed of these technologies that are meant for the human welfare is so high that has raised some concerns." As the founder of the Islamic Azad University (the largest university in Iran) President Rafsanjani indicated that there is a very good infrastructure for development of Biotechnology in Iran and added that, "in the next 5 years Islamic Azad University has a plan to allocate special attention to hi-tech and new sciences including biotechnology."
More than 100 participants of the Third Biosafety and Genetic Engineering Congress attended the official ceremony. President Rafsanjani expressed his gratitude to the organizers of the third Biosafety and Genetic Engineering Congress held in Tehran from 13 to 15 June, and the international delegates and participants for the success of the Congress. He emphasized that the official inauguration of IRBIC is "a turning point in Biotechnology and Genetics in Iran" and recommended emphatically the necessity of extending international collaborations between scientific and research centers in Iran and other countries. He added that "exchanging knowledge and experience between 26 Biotechnology Information Centers (BICs) and the new BIC in Iran can create a global impact when all the centers perform towards their common goal of food security and sustainability.
During the inauguration, Dr. Behzad Ghareyazie, President of Biosafety Society of Iran and Executive Director of Iran BIC (IRBIC) gave the opening remarks and the highlights of the three day congress. Dr. Iqbal Choudhary, Executive Director of Pakistan BIC spoke on behalf of the (BICs) of the region and hoped that with the joining of IRBIC, there will be a stronger position to disseminate the scientific information to the Organization of Islamic Countries. Dr. Rhodora R. Aldemita, representing the International Service for Acquisition Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) gave a short introduction on the establishment of BICs in the Islamic world with the initial financial support from the COMSTEC. She also joined the previous speakers in congratulating the establishment of IRBIC that she believed "will strengthen the global exchange of knowledge in modern biotechnology".
ISAAA and IRBIC signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the end of the ceremony.
For details of the event, contact Naghmeh Abiri of IRBIC at nmabiri@gmail.com.
Source: http://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?
Congress on Genetic Engineering, Food Security, and Sustainable Development Concluded in Iran.
The Third Biosafety and Genetic Engineering Congress was successfully concluded in Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran on June 13 – 18, 2011. More than 200 scientists, faculty and students, policy makers, members of the parliament, non-government organizations, and scientists from 6 countries (Philippines, Pakistan, Malaysia, Turkey, Switzerland, and Canada) participated in the congress.
Dr. Klaus Amman, a noted Swiss botanist and biotechnologist, and member of the Steering Committee of Public Research and Regulation Initiative (PRRI) gave the keynote message on "Regulatory Misconception of Transgenesis". He discussed the misconception that GM and non-GM crops are extremely different which was picked up by policy makers and regulators. Amman thus called for a change in GE regulation from one that is being driven by extreme precaution principles to being driven by science-based principles.
Plenary Talks and workshops were conducted on genetic engineering and food security, genetic engineering and environmental safety, risk assessment, management, standards and national/international regulations, socio-economic impact of applications and use of GMOs, and public awareness and participation for biosafety. The congress is jointly organized by the Biosafety Society of Iran, the Islamid Azad University, and the Iran Biotechnology Information Center.
Iran is the first country to commercialize biotech rice in 2004, and has very active crop and animal biotechnology researches, with the first cloned goat named Hana born in 2009 in the Royan Institute of Iran.
For more on the Congress, contact Naghmeh Abiri of IrBIC at nmabiri@gmail.com.
Source: http://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=8075