Russian (Russia) 
English (United Kingdom) On 7th February 2019, Mr. Roberto Consolo, from the Institute of Molecular Sciences and Technologies of the Italian National Research Council and Mr. Antonio Della Guardia, from FAV Network Fondazione Volta, Italy, experts of the EU CBRN Centres of Excellence Project 65 “Strengthening chemical and biological waste management in Central Asia countries for improved security and safety risk mitigation - CABICHEM” (www.cabichem.eu) organised in Tashkent the second fact finding mission in the Country.
The meeting enabled the CABICHEM Work Package 4 (WP4) and Work Package 8 (WP8) Experts to meet a local delegation of 30 selected representatives from Local Institutions and openly discuss about specific needs and interest in the scope of hazardous and/or special waste management. The exchange of information between the P65 Experts and the local institution was focused on the design of tailored training activities and awareness-raising campaigns on Chemical and Biological Waste Management as well as on the coordination with ongoing national, regional and international projects. Thanks to the large attendance and active participation from most of the important Uzbek institutions interested in such issues, with representatives from the Ministry of Health, State Custom Committee, State Committee for Ecology and Environment Protection, Ministry of Emergency Situation, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Interior, Institute of Microbiology, the Secretariat Commission of the Cabinet of Ministers on Prohibition of Chemical and Biological Weapons, State Committee on Industrial Safety, Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry and the Med Class Plus Company, many themes of discussion and proposals arose during the meeting, clearing the way to the definition of the most urgent priorities to be tackled within the CABICHEM Implementation.
The meeting started with presentations of the WP4 objectives and expectations. Important focuses have been given on the instruments designed on purpose to foster the information flow between the European experts and the local delegates, for an effectiveness identification of the main issues, the critical waste types and the most eligible themes for the awareness raising campaign and the training sessions.
Some chemical waste-related concerns were highlighted by the delegation as possible topics to be developed among WP4 activities, while from the biological side, the Uzbek representatives presented a brief slideshow of the actions, which are already implemented among national and international projects.
In the afternoon, two representatives from the “Med Class Plus” firm showed the improvements brought by the company to the collection of Hazardous Medical Waste, compared to the ordinary methodology adopted in the country. Room for improvements were underlined and discussed with the European experts, to be included in the awareness raising and training proposals. The meeting continued with the presentation of WP8 objectives and expectations, with an important focus on the skills required for the designation of a local expert, required to raise the targets and provide the good performance of WP8. The meeting ended with some closing remarks and mutual acknowledgements, with the hope and the commitment for a fruitful and continuous cooperation.
For any further information on the CABICHEM project http://www.cabichem.eu.