The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, paid an official visit to Algeria on 17 and 18 June 2007.
The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, paid an official visit to Algeria on 17 and 18 June 2007.
During this visit, the Director-General together with the Foreign Minister of Algeria —H. E. Mr. Mourad Medelci— opened an OPCW exhibition organized to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Chemical Weapons Convention. In his meeting with Foreign Minister Medelci, Director-General Pfirter provided an overview of the status of the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), the Organisation’s efforts to achieve the CWC’s universal and effective implementation, as well as the on-going cooperation between Algeria and the OPCW.
Director-General Pfirter informed Foreign Minister Medelci that 182 States had joined the CWC, of which 48 are from the Africa region. Director-General Pfirter mentioned that the Organisation is intensifying its effort to encourage the remaining 13 States that have not yet joined the CWC, of which five States are located on the African continent.
In reiterating Algeria’s strong commitment to the aims and objectives of the CWC, the Foreign Minister assured Director-General Pfirter of his country’s full support for the work of the OPCW.
During the visit, the Director-General also called on the Prime Minister of Algeria, H.E. Mr. Abdelaziz Belkhadem. Director-General Pfirter thanked his government for its consistent support for the work of the OPCW. A manifestation of this support was the hosting by Algeria of a Workshop on promoting the universality and effective national implementation of the Convention in Africa on 18 and 19 June 2007. The Prime Minister assured the Director-General that his country will continue to play its part in ensuring the realization of the objectives of the Convention.
PR67 / 2007