«The cost of genetic examinations for citizens can be reduced due to the purchase of Chinese equipment,» the Deputy Chairman of the State Forensic Examination Committee, the Chief State Forensic Expert of Belarus Yuri Ovsiyuk told the media today, the BelTA correspondent reports.

The delegation of the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China paid an official visit to the State Forensic Examination Committee. A special topic of the negotiations was the purchase of Chinese-made equipment and reagents for genotyposcopic research and for the analysis of gunshot residue. Such equipment has already been tested in the State Committee. The tests confirmed identical parameters and capabilities with other foreign analogues.

«The State Committee maintains close contacts with colleagues from China. We can say that this visit is the final one before signing documents for the purchase of equipment that we tested last year. Its price is low and this allows saving both budget funds and citizens’ money. The price will drop significantly enough – exact figures can’t be given now, but a decrease of about 15-20% is quite possible,» said Yuri Ovsiyuk.

According to the expert, now the establishing of biological kinship costs about Br300. Every year more than 1 thousand examinations are conducted in cases of contesting paternity in Belarus, and more than 400 genetic studies are carried out on a paid basis according to citizens’ applications. The costs of their production are borne by the disputing parties.

Belarusian experts got acquainted with the equipment from China at the last year’s exhibition «A man and security». At the request of the Belarusian side, the Chinese colleagues left their developments free of charge. Experts tested them and Chinese manufacturers launched a new line of devices based on Belarusian recommendations. Supplies of equipment, related reagents and consumables are expected in the first half of 2018.

According to the Head of the Chinese delegation the Deputy Director of the Institute of Forensic Science of the Ministry of Public Security Professor Van Gikian, the Chinese side is considering the possibility of cooperation on metallographic, x-ray studies, as well as examinations of documents. «We see that the State Forensic Examination Committee of the Republic of Belarus has a lot to learn, to adopt best practices. For example, today’s visit to the genetic examinations laboratories really impressed us with the technical equipment,» noted Van Gikian.

He added that the Chinese side is thinking about sending its employees to Belarus to learn from the experience of Belarusian colleagues. «We also plan to participate in joint research and hope that we will be able to host specialists from Belarus to exchange experience. We can say that the planned purchase of equipment is a good result of cooperation between Belarus and China. Our Department is responsible for technical development, so I hope that we will also cooperate in terms of scientific and technical development,» said Van Gikian.

As noted in the State Forensic Examination Committee the purchase of Chinese equipment and suppliers will make it cheaper to form a DNA database and the process of studying genotypes, taken from the crime scene. Daily DNA databases help to establish 10-15 matches of the genotypes of persons being checked with samples taken from the crime scene. Each of them can become a key not only to detect suspected criminals in hot pursuit, but also will help solve cold-cases.