UK-ASEAN Precision Breeding Symposium held in Hanoi
The UK-ASEAN Precision Breeding Symposium was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, organised by the British Embassy Hanoi in collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat and Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology.
The symposium brought together around 80 researchers, policymakers, startup representatives and industry experts from the UK and ASEAN member states. This included UK institutions such as Rothamsted Research, the James Hutton Institute, and the Roslin Institute, alongside biotech companies such as Tropic, Alora, and Resurrect Bio.
The symposium covered the application of genome-editing and precision breeding technologies across crops, livestock, and aquaculture, with presentations and discussions examining regional and global regulatory frameworks, public acceptance, and recent scientific developments.
Partnership-building workshops were held to identify joint research opportunities, and strengthening science-to-policy linkages was identified as a key priority for supporting food security and agricultural resilience across Southeast Asia.
Regulatory change
A focus of the event was the regulatultion of precision-bred products. The region has a mixture of regulatory acceptance of gene edited products, with some countries such as the Philippines as early adopters, while others are yet to announce any regulatory change.
Gene editing regulations across a number of ASEAN countries are at a time of change - with several countries discussing draft and emerging gene editing regulatory changes during the symposium. The UK’s Precision Breeding Act was seen as an example of what regulatory change could potentially look like.
Discussions during the meeting considered the role of UK-ASEAN research collaborations to catalyse the harmonisation of precision breeding regulation. Doing so was seen as a path to catalyse greater exchange of precision breeding technologies for research and trade.
The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to continued collaboration, recognising the importance of aligning scientific progress with appropriate regulatory frameworks and public engagement to support the sustainable adoption of precision breeding across the region.
It is clear that new regulations will be announced across some ASEAN countries for gene edited products. We will continue to document any such changes as they arise.