On 22 April 2010 the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, met with the Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry for Multilateral Relations and the Head of the Saudi National Authority, His Highness Prince Turki bin Muhammad bin Saud Al-Kabeer.
The Director-General provided His Highness with an update on the status of implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and on progress made in the destruction of the declared stockpiles of chemical weapons.
His Highness reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s strong support for the CWC and the activities of the OPCW and commended the Organisation for its achievements in eliminating chemical weapons, preventing their proliferation and assisting countries in capacity building. He also underscored the important role the Convention plays in global security.
During the meeting, the Director-General and His Highness underlined the imperative of achieving universality of the CWC and exchanged views on how best to achieve that goal.
His Highness noted several key steps taken by Saudi Arabia in implementing the Convention, such as establishing the National Authority for the Implementation of the Convention and promulgating national legislation. He also recalled that Saudi Arabia has organised, in conjunction with the OPCW, a significant number of symposia, workshops and trainings at the regional and national level, with a view to enhancing the competence of those responsible for implementing the Convention. National inspection teams had been tasked with visiting and inspecting facilities and companies covered by the Saudi Act on the Implementation of the Convention.
The Director-General commended Saudi Arabia for its commitment to the Convention, the important steps it has taken towards its implementation and for the support it has provided to the work of the OPCW. He expressed the hope that the excellent cooperative relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the OPCW would be strengthened further.