Secretariat urges promoting biotechnology development and application

The Party Central Committee's Secretariat has issued Conclusion No. 06-KL/TW, urging for the continued implementation of Directive No. 50-CT/TW by the Secretariat 9th tenure on promoting the development and application of biotechnology serving the national industrialisation and modernisation.

Photo for Illustration (Pho to: Thai Thien).

Accordingly, the Secretariat requested relevant authorities and agencies to focus on the following key tasks:

Strengthening the Party leadership and State management on biotechnology development and application, considering it as one of the key tasks, while improving mechanisms, policies and laws, and creating a favourable legal framework in accordance with the market mechanism to encourage technology development and bio industry, supporting the efficiency of biotechnology market operation, with special attention given to promoting the key role of the business community.

Building an open database on biotechnology, developing biosafety management and a testing network throughout the country, and encouraging the use of Vietnam branded biotechnology products, in addition to offering support policies for research projects on production and application of biotechnology.

The document also defines investment and development in biology as a priority task of socio-economic development and an important measure to develop a green and sustainable economy.

It urges promoting biotechnology applications in agriculture, striving by 2020 to largely self-produce most varieties of agricultural production and vaccines serving the national expanded programme on immunisation, in addition to building effective biotechnological-based programmes for agricultural development to adapt to climate change and focusing on the conservation of precious genetic resources.

Another task is to diversify investment resources for the development and application of biotechnology under the market mechanism, while promoting modernisation and innovation operation mechanism and the financial mechanism for laboratory system and testing centres to rapidly and effectively bring biotechnology progress into practice.

It also stresses the need to focus investment and develop biotechnology in national defence and step up research to master products and technology for rapid detection and effectively deal with biological attacks, meeting the requirements of national defence tasks in the new situation.

Genetic, stem cell and DNA technologies are also urged for applying in the diagnosis, assessment and treatment of serious diseases and in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Meanwhile, biotechnology transfer is needed to help create a green manufacturing foundation, as well as deal with pollution and overcome environmental recession and incidents, and encourage production of new and environmentally friendly energy capable of reproducing from waste and vegetation to replace depleted fossil fuels.

The document also maps out improving the efficiency of international co-operation in biotechnology.

(Source: NDO)