The OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, meets with senior Italian government officials in Rome, Italy.
The OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, visited Rome on 7 April 2011, to meet with senior Italian government officials and to deliver an address at the Centro di Alti Studi per la Difesa (CASD).
The Director-General met with Professor Enzo Scotti, Under Secretary of State, and Ambassador Sandro de Bernardin, Director-General for Political Affairs, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also held meetings with senior officials at the Ministry of Defence.
The Director-General underlined the importance of achieving a sustainable ban on chemical weapons in today’s changing security environment and expressed appreciation for Italy’s contribution to that effect. He also welcomed Italy’s commitments and efforts to dispose of its old chemical weapons (pre 1946), notwithstanding the continuing new discoveries.
The Director-General’s address to the CASD focused on the Chemical Weapons Convention and its contribution to global security. He expressed appreciation for Italy’s strong support for the OPCW including through training of OPCW inspectors, offers of assistance in case of an attack with chemical weapons, and promotion of universality of the Convention.