On 16 November 2005, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), opened together with H.E. Mr Khursid M. Kasuri, Foreign Minister of Pakistan, a seminar on the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which was held in Islamabad, Pakistan.
In his opening remarks, Foreign Minister Kasuri stressed the importance of the CWC as an invaluable instrument of peace and security and reiterated the strong commitment of his country to the objectives of the Convention. He underscored the importance of activities, such as the implementation seminar, in contributing to the improvement of the CWC’s national application.
Director-General Pfirter recalled the recent decision of the OPCW’s highest decision-making body, the Conference of the States Parties, to continue the Action Plan to enhance the effectiveness with which individual OPCW Member State governments are applying the CWC’s disarmament and non-proliferation regimes. He stated that over one hundred OPCW Member States have requested and are receiving support in this complex task. He underlined the need for all governments to establish in a timely manner the national means required by the CWC to guarantee a global chemical weapons ban.
The seminar was attended by officials of several ministries within the Government of Pakistan, as well as a number of foreign diplomats, attending courses at the Foreign Service Academy of Pakistan.
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