OPCW Director-General H.E. Mr A. Üzümcü (right) with the Minister for External Affairs, H.E. Mr S.M. Krishna
The OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, visited India on 13 and 14 January 2011 and met with the Minister for External Affairs, H.E. Mr S.M. Krishna, and other senior officials. During his stay he also visited the Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) in Gwalior.
In his meeting with the External Affairs Minister, Director-General Üzümcü commended India for its efforts to comprehensively implement the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and expressed his appreciation for its extensive support to the work of the OPCW. They discussed a range of CWC-related issues, focusing on the need to complete the destruction of existing chemical weapons and to maintain an effective nonproliferation regime to prevent their re-emergence. The External Affairs Minister assured the Director-General of India’s continued strong commitment to the Convention and its support for efforts to ensure comprehensive implementation of the CWC globally.
The Director-General also held meetings with H.E. Mr K.M. Chandrasekhar, the Cabinet Secretary; with H.E. Mr Shivshankhar Menon, National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister; with H.E. Mr Vivek Katju, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs; and with H.E. Dr. Prajapati Trivedi, Chairman, National Authority, Chemical Weapons Convention.
While in New Delhi, the Director-General addressed an inauguration event for the launch of the International Year of Chemistry 2011 in India. On this occasion, the Director-General released a booklet and a dedicated website summarizing the planned activities for IYC-2011. The Year was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 2008 to acknowledge the contributions of chemistry to human development, and is being organized by UNESCO in collaboration with the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). In his remarks, the Director-General announced that to commemorate IYC-2011 the OPCW will hold a special conference on International Cooperation and Chemical Safety and Security at its headquarters in The Hague in September 2011.
In New Delhi, the Director-General furthermore participated in a workshop on the future of the OPCW.
The Director-General also travelled to Gwalior for a visit to the DRDE, which houses the VERTOX Laboratory – India’s first Designated Laboratory for the analysis of chemical warfare agents – as well as a Schedule 1 production facility that serves as a hub for development of protective devices against chemical weapons.