China-Kazakhstan Joint Laboratory of Agricultural Sciences (the joint laboratory), which was built by Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and Saken Seifullin Kazakh Agrotechnical University (KATU), has been accredited in the accreditation system of the Republic of Kazakhstan for compliance with the requirement of GOST ISO/ICE 17025-2019 "General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories".

The joint Laboratory was located in the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry of KATU in Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan. This laboratory was created to study and diagnose contagious animal diseases of mutual concern to both countries. The process of setting up the laboratory began in 2017. The laboratory is organized on the basis of the BSL-2 and BSL-3 safety standard, equipped with a supply and exhaust system and a pass-through autoclave, which ensure complete safety of the environment from the spread of potentially dangerous biological agents. The necessary equipment for serological and molecular genetic diagnostics of animal diseases has been installed here. The joint laboratory will become an important platform for scientific and technological cooperationbetween China and Kazakhstan under “the Belt and Road Initiative”.

The construction and operation of the joint laboratory has been highly recognized and strongly supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan and other departments. The construction of the joint laboratory is mainly funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, China, under the project entitled "The China-Kazakhstan Joint Laboratory of Agricultural Sciences and Education Demonstration Base (Science and technology assistance project for developing countries)", and Harbin Veterinary Research Institute undertakes the task of construction.

By Guo Wei (guowei@caas.cn)