Kazakhstan’s New National Laboratory is a Regional Resource for a Global Cause

The authors defend the creation of Kazakhstan's new Central Reference Laboratory (CRL), which opened on January 1, 2020. Funded by the US Department of Defense's Cooperative Threat Reduction program, the CRL replaces the dilapidated Kazakh Scientific Center for Quarantine and Zoonotic Diseases (KSCQZD). The authors contend that the CRL's BSL-2 and BSL-3 standards mitigate the risk of laboratory accidents and natural infectious diseases, such as Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever and COVID-19, while calling for regional cooperation between Kazakhstan, Russia, and China to ensure transparency and compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention.

• The Central Reference Laboratory (CRL) opened on January 1, 2020, to replace the Kazakh Scientific Center for Quarantine and Zoonotic Diseases (KSCQZD), which had fallen into "severe disrepair" and lacked necessary biosafety controls.
• The CRL was funded by the US Department of Defense’s Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program, though Kazakhstan maintains full operational ownership and funding of the facility.
• The CRL provides national testing for COVID-19 and addresses high-risk naturally occurring diseases in Kazakhstan, including tickborne encephalitis (TBE), Q fever, rickettsial diseases, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (hantaviruses), and Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF).
• While laboratories like the CRL are "inherently dual-use in nature" and could potentially be diverted for weapons-related applications in breach of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), the authors argue that international cooperation and Kazakhstan's submission of confidence-building measures help minimize this risk.

APA

Weber, A., & Pilch, R. (2020). Kazakhstan’s New National Laboratory is a Regional Resource for a Global Cause. The Council on Strategic Risks. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2020/05/21/kazakhstans-new-national-laboratory-is-a-regional-resource-for-a-global-cause/

Chicago

Weber, Andy, and Richard Pilch. Kazakhstan’s New National Laboratory is a Regional Resource for a Global Cause. The Council on Strategic Risks, 2020. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2020/05/21/kazakhstans-new-national-laboratory-is-a-regional-resource-for-a-global-cause/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Weber |first1=Andy |last2=Pilch |first2=Richard |title=Kazakhstan’s New National Laboratory is a Regional Resource for a Global Cause |publisher=The Council on Strategic Risks |date=21 May 2020 |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2020/05/21/kazakhstans-new-national-laboratory-is-a-regional-resource-for-a-global-cause/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{weber2020kazakhstans, author = {Weber, Andy and Pilch, Richard}, title = {{Kazakhstan’s New National Laboratory is a Regional Resource for a Global Cause}}, publisher = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, year = {2020}, month = may, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2020/05/21/kazakhstans-new-national-laboratory-is-a-regional-resource-for-a-global-cause/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }