The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, paid an official visit to the United Kingdom from 16 to 17 November 2004 . During his visit, Director-General Rogelio Pfirter met the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister, Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, Department of Trade and Industry Minister, Mr Nigel Griffiths MP, as well as senior officials within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department of Trade and Industry, and, the Ministry of Defence.
Mr Griffiths and Baroness Symons reaffirmed on behalf of the Government the United Kingdom ‘s strong support for the goals of the Chemical Weapons Convention and its unwavering resolve to achieve the Convention’s universal and effective application. Mr Griffiths and Baroness Symons stressed the importance of universal adherence to the Convention and its full implementation as part of the international effort to limit the threat of acquisition, or use, of these weapons by non-state actors, including terrorists.
On behalf of the Organisation, Director-General Pfirter thanked the Government of the United Kingdom for its exemplary cooperation and support in all areas of the Convention’s implementation. Director-General Pfirter noted that “The Convention can only then offer its full protection to all when States Parties pursue its implementation diligently. The Organisation depends upon the will of States Parties such as the United Kingdom to achieve a world forever free of chemical weapons.”
During his official visit, Director-General Pfirter also had the opportunity to familiarize himself with the activities of the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) at Porton Down, Wiltshire.
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