Azerbaijan, Belarus to expand cooperation in food safety

The delegation from the Azerbaijan Food Safety Agency (AFSA) visited the Republic of Belarus from July 29 to July 31 for a business trip, Azernews reports.

According to information provided by the agency, the visit aimed to discuss enhancing cooperation between the two countries in food safety, animal and plant health, and the production of veterinary drugs.

During the visit, a meeting took place between the delegation, led by Deputy Chairman Balarahim Guliyev, and the Belarusian delegation, led by Minister of Agriculture and Food Anatoly Linevych.

At the meeting, congratulations were extended to the newly appointed Minister of Agriculture and Food of Belarus. The discussion highlighted the importance of expanding relations between the relevant institutions in Azerbaijan and Belarus.

The meeting addressed the implementation of agreements on establishing veterinary drug production in Azerbaijan. An agreement was reached on developing a roadmap with specific measures for setting up this production. The prospects for current cooperation in creating and applying an animal identification, registration, and tracking system were also considered.

Additionally, the meeting covered the steps required to recognise the equivalence of the food facility approval system in Belarus, focusing on poultry meat, its by-products, and egg production and processing enterprises. In the realm of phytosanitary control, discussions centred on integrating information systems between the state regulatory bodies of both countries and improving the exchange of information on phytosanitary certificates and control results in electronic format.

During the visit, the Azerbaijani delegation also inspected several institutions, including BelVitunifarm OJSC, the Belarus State Veterinary Centre, the Veterinary-Sanitary Expertise Laboratory, the Animal Identification Centre, and the National Trading House.