The Prime Minister of Canada has announced his Government will make a voluntary contribution of CAD10 million (roughly €6.6 million) to the Trust Fund for destroying Syrian chemical weapons, part of a line of support that includes another CAD 5 million for destruction operations by the United States aboard the vessel Cape Ray.
The contribution will add to €13 million that Member States have already provided to the Trust Fund to date, with more than €21 million in additional pledges. It is the latest in a series of voluntary contributions to the OPCW by Canada. These include CAD 6 million in funding in 2012 to accelerate the resumption of chemical weapons destruction operations in Libya, and CAD 2 million to support OPCW expert participation in the UN Investigation of Alleged Use of chemical weapons in Syria in 2013, led by Dr Ake Sellstrom.
“I wish to thank Canada for its generosity and solidarity,” said the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü. “Such cooperation, by all the Member States and organizations contributing to the Trust Fund, is vital if we are to achieve the ambitious target of eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons programme by mid-2014.”