On 18-19 May 2010 the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, paid an official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina where he met with the Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, H.E. Mr Nicola Spiric.
During their meeting the Prime Minister expressed his appreciation over the cooperation that exists between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the OPCW. He informed the Director-General about the steps taken by his country to implement its obligations arising from membership of international treaties, including the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The Director-General expressed his gratitude to Bosnia and Herzegovina for its strong support for the objectives of the CWC, which was also reflected in his country’s readiness to host important OPCW regional events.
Earlier in the day the Director-General and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mrs Ana Trisic-Babic, jointly opened the Ninth Regional Meeting of National Authorities of States Parties in Eastern Europe, held in Jahorina from 19 to 21 May 2010. Speaking on the occasion the Deputy Minister reviewed the importance of the meeting in terms of promoting greater cooperation and collaboration between various National Authorities in the region. She also expressed appreciation to the Director-General and the staff of the Technical Secretariat for their dedicated efforts in implementing the mandate given to them by the Convention.
In his opening remarks Director-General Pfirter highlighted the substantial contribution that National Authorities have made to the region’s overall success in implementing the CWC. He underlined the importance of maintaining close contacts with the chemical industry as well as of effective coordination mechanisms to monitor the trade in chemicals. Training courses to support National Authorities in Eastern Europe were being organised in support of these objectives.
During the Regional Meeting, National Authority representatives exchanged views on a range of issues relating to the implementation of the CWC, in particular as regards Article VI declarations and verification. The Technical Secretariat also offered information on recent initiatives to refine and improve the application of the verification regime. Participants furthermore discussed ways and means to enhance regional and sub-regional cooperation. A total of 37 participants from 23 States Parties attended the meeting.*
* Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Ukraine. The United States of America also attended.
OPCW NEWS 13/2010, THE HAGUE, 25 MAY 2010