OPCW Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü (left) and Malaysian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Datuk Richard Riot Anak Jaem.
Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü visited Malaysia on 7 and 8 May 2012, where he had meetings with senior officials and a variety of national stakeholder institutions. He also delivered the keynote address during a seminar on the Chemical Weapons Convention and Chemical-Safety-and-Security Management for Member States in the Southeast and South Asia region. The seminar was attended by 41 participants from 16 Member States* and from Myanmar, which is a not a State Party to the Convention.
In Putrajaya, the Director-General called on the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Datuk Richard Riot Anak Jaem, and separately on the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tan Sri Mohd Radzi Bin Abdul Rahman. In these meetings he expressed appreciation for Malaysia’s strong commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and support for the work of the OPCW, and provided an update on implementation of the chemical weapons ban. The Deputy Foreign Minister and Secretary General reaffirmed Malaysia’s continuing commitment and support and commended the OPCW for its substantive contribution to global peace and security.
The Director-General also made an office call with Dato’ Sri Dr. Haji Ismail Haji Ahmad, Secretary General of the Malaysian Ministry of Defence. Dato’ Sri Dr. Ismail briefed the Director General on regional security mechanisms and ASEAN’s role in enhancing security in Southeast Asia. The Director-General praised the role of Malaysia in enhancing security throughout is region within the framework not only of the CWC but of ASEAN and the ASEAN Regional Forum as well.
Director-General Üzümcü met with three other Government officials including Datuk Hamidon Ali, Chairman of Malaysia’s CWC National Authority; Datuk Dr. Abdul Ghaffar Ramli, Director General of the Science and Technology Research Institute for Defence (STRIDE); and Dato’ Eisah A. Rahman, Senior Director of the Pharmaceutical Services Division; and with members of the Malaysian National Authority. His programme also included visits to the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), the National Defence University of Malaysia (NDUM), and the Chemical Industries Council of Malaysia (CICM).
In his address to the seminar [PDF – 35 KB], the Director-General underlined the event’s importance given the significant development of chemical industry in the region. He said the OPCW’s activities in the field of Chemical Safety and Security have been designed to help ensure that small- and medium-sized chemical facilities in particular continue to operate in a safe environment, and noted that nine such events have been held under OPCW’s auspices in the past three years.
* Cambodia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Republic of Palau, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United States and Viet Nam