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Viewing cable 08RABAT1152, U.S.-MOROCCO LABORATORY BIOSAFETY AND BIOSECURITY

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08RABAT1152 2008-12-15 16:52 2011-08-24 16:30 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Rabat
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRB #1152/01 3501652
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151652Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9436
INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 0430
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 0635
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 0576
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 2469
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 0742
RUEHDO/AMEMBASSY DOHA 0875
RUEHKU/AMEMBASSY KUWAIT 1416
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 6074
RUEHMK/AMEMBASSY MANAMA 1049
RUEHMS/AMEMBASSY MUSCAT 0154
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 5144
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 0714
RUEHYN/AMEMBASSY SANAA 1242
RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA 4419
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
UNCLAS RABAT 001152 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/MAG, ISN/CTR, OES/STC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV TBIO TSPL MO XI XF
SUBJECT: U.S.-MOROCCO LABORATORY BIOSAFETY AND BIOSECURITY 
WORKSHOP 
 
REF: RABAT 755 
 
1.  (U) Summary: The first joint U.S.-Morocco Workshop on 
Laboratory Biosafety and Biosecurity took place November 3-5 
in Rabat, bringing together U.S. and international experts 
with policy makers, administrators and scientists from 
several Moroccan ministries and laboratories.  The U.S. 
delegation also met separately with Government of Morocco 
(GOM) officials, and toured laboratories during the week. 
Many GOM officials expressed a strong interest in continuing 
collaboration with the U.S. to improve the safety and 
security of Moroccan labs, increase Morocco,s standing in 
the region as a leader in biosafety and biosecurity 
practices, and more broadly increase science and technology 
(S&T) linkages with the U.S.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
LABORATORY BIOSAFETY AND BIOSECURITY WORKSHOP 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
2.  (U) The U.S. Department of State,s Bio-engagement 
Program (BEP), within the Bureau of International Security 
and Nonproliferation's Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction 
(ISN/CTR), led a U.S. delegation to co-organize a Biosafety 
and Biosecurity workshop with the Moroccan Ministry of 
Health,s (MOH) National Institute of Hygiene (INH).  This 
initiative responded to a prior Moroccan request for general 
awareness-raising training for national stakeholders in 
biosafety and biosecurity.  The first two days of the 
workshop highlighted the importance and benefits of 
laboratory biosafety and biosecurity, and improved national 
legislation, to national security, human and animal health, 
and the economy.  The INH saw this as an opportunity to bring 
together the relevant stakeholders for an awareness-raising 
event in advance of an expected MOH proposal to create a 
national interagency committee on biosafety and biosecurity. 
The last day of the workshop was technical in nature, again 
at the request of the INH; this day provided training and 
certification in the proper, internationally-accepted 
procedures for the shipment of hazardous biological samples 
as laid out by the International Air Transport Association 
(IATA) *- a self-identified knowledge gap in Moroccan 
laboratories. 
 
3.  (U) U.S. experts from Sandia National Laboratories and 
the Navy Medical Research Unit No. 3 (NAMRU-3), based in 
Cairo, Egypt, conducted the bulk of the workshop training. 
In addition, two experts on international nonproliferation 
legislation from the Verification Research, Training and 
Information Centre (VERTIC) presented their work with foreign 
governments to assess and improve biological weapons 
nonproliferation legislation worldwide.  A number of Moroccan 
government officials from the INH, the MOH's Directorate of 
Epidemiology, and the state-owned veterinary and agricultural 
laboratory Biopharma also gave presentations outlining the 
status of human and animal health and lab infrastructure in 
Morocco, as well as GOM initiatives to meet the requirements 
set forth by the World Health Organization,s International 
Health Regulations. 
 
4.  (U) Moroccan participants were enthusiastic about the 
workshop; close to 80 participants from several ministries 
and bioscience institutes attended the first two days, and 
more than twice as many people as invited asked to attend the 
hazardous shipping component on the last day.  By the end of 
the workshop, over 45 scientists passed the IATA 
certification exam for the shipment of hazardous substances. 
Furthermore, the INH pledged to continue domestic efforts to 
strengthen biosafety and biosecurity regimes by assembling a 
multi-agency committee that would address national biosafety 
and biosecurity plans and programs. 
 
 
------------------------------------- 
SAFETY, SECURITY, AND S&T COOPERATION 
------------------------------------- 
 
5.  (SBU) The U.S. delegation met with a number of Moroccan 
policy makers, laboratory administrators and scientists to 
discuss ways to collaborate more closely on laboratory 
biosafety and biosecurity, disease surveillance and control, 
and the development of better national legislation and 
regulations to help meet the obligations of the Biological 
Weapons Convention (BWC) and United Nations Security Council 
Resolution 1540.  INH Director Rajae El Aouad expressed an 
interest in collaborating with the U.S. to improve the level 
of safety and security within the large network of regional 
and provincial labs under INH oversight, as well as to build 
capacity to detect specific diseases.  El Aouad believes that 
partnering with the U.S. would be politically useful for 
securing future support from the Ministry of Health by 
showing that the INH has access to needed technical support. 
The U.S. delegation also met with Dr. Mohammed Benbouida from 
the Direction of Technology, Ministry of Higher Education and 
Scientific Research.  Benbouida, the Moroccan coordinator for 
initiatives under the U.S.- Morocco Science and Technology 
(S&T) Agreement signed in November 2006, expressed his wish 
that life sciences be accorded a higher priority for 
bilateral cooperation under the agreement, and agreed to 
communicate further with the Embassy on potential avenues for 
cooperation. 
 
6.  (SBU) On the margins of the workshop, VERTIC met with 
officials from the Moroccan Ministries of Foreign Affairs, 
Health, and Higher Education interested in the drafting of 
nonproliferation legislation.  VERTIC representatives 
catalyzed a discussion on the ways they could help the GOM 
evaluate and improve the current national legislation meant 
to prevent and criminalize the proliferation and use of 
biological weapons.  VERTIC then reviewed the current 
Moroccan legislation with the Moroccan interlocutors. 
VERTIC's participation in the conference and side discussions 
led to an increased level of communication between the 
various Moroccan agencies on biosafety and biosecurity; 
helped the GOM begin to outline the roles and 
responsibilities of the various agencies; and produced a 
commitment to continue the dialogue.  ISN/CTR offered to 
provide support for future VERTIC work in Morocco and the 
surrounding region. 
 
---------------- 
LABORATORY TOURS 
---------------- 
 
7.  (U) The U.S. delegation toured several laboratories in 
Rabat and Casablanca under INH auspices in order to assess 
laboratory capacity, safety and security, and discuss 
possible opportunities for future collaboration.  The tours 
focused on institutes that investigate infectious diseases, 
especially those facilities with Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) 
high containment laboratories.  Facilities visited included 
the National Institute of Hygiene, the Military Health 
Laboratory, the Gendarmerie Laboratory, the Pasteur 
Institute, and the Casablanca regional health laboratory.  A 
visit to the Biopharma laboratory, one of Morocco,s leading 
animal health and agriculture facilities, was canceled due to 
serious ongoing outbreaks of "peste des petits ruminants" 
(sheep plague) in Morocco.  Biopharma had implemented a 
strict no-visitors policy during its crash effort to produce 
25 millions doses of vaccine within a two week period. 
 
8.  (U) The U.S. team was welcomed at each institute, given 
access to the primary infectious disease and high containment 
 
labs on each campus, and in general had frank discussions 
about the status and needs of Moroccan laboratories.  Without 
exception, the staff of each institute expressed a desire to 
collaborate in the future.  In addition, the lab tours helped 
to forge connections between Moroccan institutes *- for 
example, the trip to the Military Health Lab was the first 
time the INH personnel had visited the military campus; 
military and INH staff had a brief discussion on possible 
ways they could work together on improving safety in their 
laboratories.  Finally, while the U.S. delegation was not 
able to visit the Biopharma laboratories, the delegation met 
with Dr. Mehdi El Harrak, director of the institute, to 
discuss animal health needs in Morocco, and potential ways to 
collaborate in the future.  El Harrak invited ISN/CTR to 
visit his facility on a future trip. 
 
-------------------------- 
OPEN TO FUTURE COOPERATION 
-------------------------- 
 
9.  (SBU) ISN/CTR and INH personnel discussed several 
possible next steps to deepen collaboration on laboratory 
biosafety and biosecurity in Morocco.  The U.S. delegation 
will draft and share a general assessment of the biosafety 
and biosecurity in the INH laboratories, along with 
recommendations for possible assistance.  INH, in turn, will 
draft a list of its institutional priorities in biosafety and 
biosecurity.  An initial area of focus will be in identifying 
and training biosafety officers within the INH and the 16 
regional public health labs for which it has oversight 
responsibilities. 
 
 
***************************************** 
Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat 
***************************************** 
 
Riley