Deputy Director-General Mrs Grace Asirwatham visted Dstl Porton Down during a recent trip to the United Kingdom. The Deputy Director-General vists the Royal Society of Chemistry.
The Deputy Director-General, Mrs Grace Asirwatham, visited the UK on 19 and 20 January 2012 where she had meetings with senior UK Government officials, with members of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) Advisory Committee, and with a group of industry and civil society representatives engaged with CWC-related issues.
In her discussions with the Government officials, the Deputy Director-General expressed appreciation for the UK’s consistent support for the Convention and the OPCW and for the constructive role it played in the Conference of the States Parties in December. She updated the officials on developments in the OPCW’s verification regime, on issues related to the Organisation’s transition to new priorities, and on future strategic directions. The Government officials assured her of the UK’s continuing support and its commitment to work closely with the OPCW to ensure a successful transition in the coming years.
The Deputy Director-General briefed the CWC Advisory Committee on the main outcomes of the Conference of the States Parties and discussed a range of issues, including industry verification, chemical safety and security, the implications of changes in science and technology, the Advisory Panel report on future priorities of the OPCW, and the Third Review Conference scheduled for 2013. She addressed many of these issues in a roundtable discussion with the civil society representatives, as well as national implementation, chemical weapons destruction, incapacitating chemical agents, and the convergence of chemistry and biology.
During her stay Mrs Asirwatham also visited the Royal Society of Chemistry in London, and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) facility at Porton Down where she toured the OPCW Designated Laboratory and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) facility and the Single Small-Scale Facility .