Opening Remarks
Ambassador Yann Hwang, Permanent Representative of France to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and Chair of the 2019 Meeting of the States Parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention

Session #1
Gene Drives and Engineered Ecology: What can we expect from these advancing capabilities and what are their implications on the BWC?
Moderator: Michael Montague, Senior Scholar, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, USA
Panelists:
– Fei Li, Institute of Insect Science, Zhejiang University, China
– Alexander Kagansky, Far Eastern Federal University, Russia

Session #2
Advancing Agriculture and Ecosystems: What is the current state of capabilities and what are the impacts on the BWC?
Moderator: Gigi Gronvall, Senior Scholar, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, USA
Panelists:
– George Obiero, University of Nairobi, Centre of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Kenya
– Faisal Khan, CECOS University, Peshawar, Pakistan

Keynote Address
Alessandro Marcello, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology

Session #3
Barriers and Opportunities: What policies for cutting-edge biology could strengthen the BWC?
Moderator: Gigi Gronvall, Senior Scholar, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, USA
Panelists:
– Margaret Karembu, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications
– Jonathan Forman, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
– Daniel Feakes, BWC Implementation Support Unit