India announces launch of Asia Biotech Meeting

Noting that the biotechnology industry in Asia is still at a nascent stage, India has announced the launch of an annual 'Asia Biotech' meet, bringing together scientists and biotechnology experts who will focus mostly on the needs of the people of the region.

"Most of Asia is largely an agricultural community so agricultural biotechnology is necessary for food security," Minister of Science and Technology Kapil Sibal said adding that the experts would also focus on health security.

The launching of the annual meeting was announced by Sibal at the fourth Asean informal ministerial meeting on Science and Technology, held at Kuatan in Pahang state.

The annual meet is modelled on the lines of the 'Biotechnology Conference' held annually in the United States. Next year's meeting will be held at Boston.

The Asia Biotech conference will be held in rotation across Asean plus six nations viz China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. The first conference will be held at New Delhi in November 2007.

"The meeting will be held in the Asean plus six countries but participation is welcome from other Asian and Western nations, though the focus will be on Asia," Sibal said.

"We also need to set up regulatory mechanisms, something like Asian DA based on the lines of the FDA," the minister said here on his arrival after the informal meet at Kuantan.