A group of directors, staff and students of Italy’s Institute for High Defence Studies (Istituto Alti Studi per la Difesa – IASD) in Rome, led by its President and accompanied by the Italian Embassy, visited the Technical Secretariat on 28 March 2012 for an educational programme on the Chemical Weapons Convention and the OPCW.
The programme included an introductory address by the Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, and presentations by senior OPCW officials on the Convention’s verification regime, national implementation, and chemical safety and security.
In his remarks [PDF – 25 KB], the Director-General recalled his 2011 visit to Italy’s Centre for High Defence Studies, which houses the Institute, where he addressed a distinguished audience of senior government officials engaged in advancing policy objectives in the field of defense and national strategy. The Director-General commended the Italian Government and National Authority for their “relentless efforts and support to the Chemical Weapons Convention,” which he said have been indispensable to the collective endeavour of making the Convention a success in disarmament and non-proliferation.