UK And U.S. Announce New Strategic Partnership To Tackle Increased Biological Threats

The partnership builds on existing commitments made in The Atlantic Declaration signed by the UK and US in June 2023, which provides a framework for a modern economic partnership ready to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century – and will be key to bolstering the future health and economic resilience of the UK.

Working as equal partners the new Strategic Dialogue reaffirms both nations’ commitment to increase collaboration on biosecurity in the following ways:

• Develop a shared understanding of research and development needs, allowing for improved responsiveness to disease outbreaks and supporting early technology assessments.
• Embed a ‘One Health’ approach to bio-surveillance and biological threat detection, to develop stronger and more interconnected global surveillance capabilities across humans, animals, plants and the environment. 
• Pursue the development of new tools and methodologies for microbial forensics and attribution.
• Promote responsible innovation in the biotechnology, health and life sciences sectors, shaping global norms and standards on biosafety and biosecurity.
• Facilitate the development of next-generation vaccines and therapeutics.
• Strengthen collaboration and coordination of efforts to counter biological threats.

Underpinned by the UK Biological Security Strategy and the U.S. Biodefense Strategy, the Strategic Dialogue reflects a shared ambition to protect against a growing and diverse spectrum of biological threats. These risks include future pandemics, antimicrobial resistance, a deliberate attack, as well as those that might arise from misuse of biotechnology.

Announced as part of a joint statement by the UK Cabinet Office and White House National Security Council, the Strategic Dialogue builds on the UK’s position as a global thought-leader on biological security and strengthens our commitment to work with like-minded partners to build international consensus and collaboration towards strengthened global resilience and threat deterrence.

In further efforts to strengthen the UK’s biosecurity capabilities, the Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden also announced a £2 million uplift for the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Respiratory Metagenomics Project, which uses genetic sequencing to detect pathogens and improve patient outcomes while providing crucial data sources to support surveillance of new and emerging diseases.