By Admin 
India on Monday (December 1, 2025) expressed the need for a global mechanism to prevent the possible misuse of biological weapons in view of the uncertain international security environment. External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar said that misuse of biological weapons by non-state actors is not far-fetched and international cooperation is necessary to deal with such a challenge.
Addressing a conference organized on the 50th anniversary of the Biological Weapons Convention, he said, ‘Biological terrorism is a matter of serious concern, for which the international community has to be fully prepared. However, BWC still lacks basic institutional structure.
He said, ‘There is no compliance system, no permanent technical body and no mechanism to monitor new scientific developments. To strengthen trust, it is necessary to remove these shortcomings. The minister said India has consistently called for stronger compliance measures within the BWC, including verification tailored to today’s world.
He said, ‘India supports international cooperation and assistance to facilitate exchange of material and equipment for peaceful uses.’ The External Affairs Minister said, ‘We have sought a systematic review of scientific and technological developments so that governance can truly keep pace with the pace of innovation.’
Jaishankar said India has consistently called for stronger compliance measures within the BWC, including a verification regime built for today’s world. He said, ‘India supports international cooperation and assistance in enabling exchange of materials and equipment for peaceful uses.’
The External Affairs Minister said India has proposed a national implementation draft that includes identification of high-risk actors, monitoring of dual-use research, incident management and continuous training. He said, ‘BWC has been based on a simple idea for 50 years that humanity should reject it. But norms survive only when nations renew them. Concrete action will be required over the next 50 years.
The External Affairs Minister said, ‘We have to make the treaty relevant to the present, we have to keep pace with science and we have to strengthen global capacity so that all countries can detect, prevent and respond to biological risks.’
Jaishankar said that India is ready to play the role of a reliable partner for the ‘Global South’ and a committed supporter of global biosecurity. He said that the international security environment has become more uncertain and rapid advances in technology have increased the availability and affordability of sophisticated biotechnology equipment and significantly reduced the cost of sequencing and manufacturing.
Jaishankar said, ‘The recent outbreaks including the COVID-19 pandemic have affected all of us. This has created an immediate learning curve for both policy makers and practitioners. He said, ‘These developments have raised new questions to consider in the context of the implementation of BWC.’