H.E. Mr Ramtane Lamamra, African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security
H.E. Mr Ramtane Lamamra, the African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security, visited the OPCW headquarters on 27 April 2009 and met with the Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter.
During their meeting, Director-General Pfirter and Commissioner Lamamra addressed the status of implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) including universal adherence to the CWC and international cooperation in the field of the peaceful uses of chemistry. Possible threats from chemical terrorism were also discussed in the meeting.
Director-General Pfirter furthermore informed Commissioner Lamamra on the OPCW’s cooperation with the African Union and the Programme for Africa. In this context, Director-General Pfirter underlined that the Programme for Africa is part of the Organisation’s efforts to intensify its support to States Parties in the region towards achieving universality and effective implementation of the Convention.
The Director-General and the Commissioner also discussed areas of mutual interests, where cooperative relations could be strengthened within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding, signed by the two Organisations, in January 2006.
Commissioner Lamamra expressed the African Union’s continuing support for the work of the OPCW and welcomed further engagement with the Organisation. He reiterated the African Union’s firm commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention, a non-discriminatory multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation treaty that contributes to international peace and security.