Seeing the slow progress in the implementation of the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress, India's Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan has appealed to the signatories to "fast track" the ratification.

Natarajan also assured that India was committed to the covenant and stressed that the Indian government had already kicked off the ratification process.

Natarajan's assurance during the opening session of the 6th meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties (CoP-MoP 6) on the Cartegena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB).

CoP-MoP 6, which is taking place in Nagoya in Japan, was formally opened by Masamichi Saigo. Representatives of as many as 150 countries have gathered to review the position of the implementation of the key elements of the CPB.

Charles Gbedemah, head of the bio-safety at Convention on Biological Diversity, said, "Efforts are being made to adopt a framework to help countries in capacity-building in different components of biosafety."

The Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol deals with liability and redress damage resulting from Living Modified Organisms (LMOs). In other words, it aims to ensure the safe handling, transfer and use of LMOs generated by modern biotechnology.