Every year, on the occasion of the International Microbiology Conference of Iran, scientists and researchers from reference laboratories and research centers of different countries such as Australia, Germany, South Africa, Sweden, France and Italy are invited to Razi institute, which leads to long-term cooperation.
The history of the scientific relationship between Razi institute and IZS dates back to the winter of 2018, when Dr. Massimo Scacchia, head of the CBPP reference laboratory at IZS, in response to Razi's joint efforts, invited Razi institute's director general and deputy of research to visit the Teramo IZS, holding a mutual scientific meeting and expanding scientific relations and developing joint scientific proposals were among the goals of this visit.
A draft scientific memorandum of understanding was prepared between the two centers and currently this memorandum of understanding is being taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran and the Ministry of Health of Italy and at the same time the research activities between these two centers are being carried out successfully. 
After the global Covid 19 pandemic, once again, there is a great opportunity to revive international scientific cooperation and allow scientists to pursue their joint research activities. On Tuesday 30 August,2022, Razi institute hosted two researchers from IZS in Italy, and one of the goals of their presence was to hold international seminars and workshops on the topic of whole genome sequencing (WGS) and bioinformatics analysis. These seminars are another step in deepening the connection between the two centers, and we hope that this connection will be a chain of joint research projects between the reference laboratories.
Dr. Soheila Moradi Bidhendi, Deputy Director of Research & Technology at Razi institute chaired the opening of the seminar and expressed her sincere thanks to the organizers and in particular the honorable speakers, mention that these seminars will provide us not only essential knowledge but also a great opportunity to share experiences.
On the first day of these seminars, Dr. Cesare Camma, head of the Molecular Biology and Genomics Unit of IZS, pointed out the history of cooperation between the institutes and expressed his thanks for inviting the IZS researchers to Razi institute. He also mentioned that they were influenced by the variety of products and activities of Razi institute and expressed hope that the results of these meetings would lead to greater cooperation between the two institutes.
Dr. Nicolas Radomski, Senior bioinformatics expert in microorganism genomics of IZS, also expressed his thanks for the invitation of Razi institute and said that by getting to know more about Razi institute, it is understood that there are many points in common between the two institutes in order to carry out joint projects. He also pointed that the different activity of the institutes as Razi which is a vaccine manufacturer and IZS with a national reference laboratory for genomic analysis, we can learn from each other by sharing information and experiences.
In line with the activities of the International Affairs Office of Razi to expand international scientific activities and organizing these seminars, Dr. Rainak Ghaderi, Head of the office expressed hope for the successful holding of these scientific meetings. He also thanked  the support of the Board of Directors in holding this event and invited all doctors, veterinary specialists, immunologists, microbiologists, livestock farmers, students and other related groups to participate in these seminars by registering online at Vc.areeo.ac.ir/ch/razich-2 .