Deputy Director-General Grace Asirwatham (second from right) and Members of Parliament from the Kenya National Assembly, Departmental Committee on Defense and Foreign Relations.
A group of five Members of the Kenyan National Assembly headed by the Hon. Aden Kenyan, Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations, visited the OPCW today for a tour of the headquarters and a meeting with senior OPCW officials. The delegation was accompanied by Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the OPCW, H.E. Mrs Ruthie Chepkoech Rono.
The Deputy Director-General, Mrs Grace Asirwatham, received the delegation and provided the parliamentarians an overview of the work of the OPCW focussing on its activities in the area of international cooperation and assistance. She also highlighted the success of the OPCW as a disarmament organisation that is in the process of completing the destruction of the declared chemical weapons stockpiles in possessor States Parties.
Following the briefing an exchange of views took place between the delegation and the Deputy Director-General with regard to the benefits and the obligations of States Parties on ensuring full implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Members of the National Assembly expressed their appreciation for the substantive cooperation provided by the OPCW throughout the years. While reiterating their commitment to the OPCW, they expressed their desire to work closely with the Secretariat to further implement the Convention. The Deputy Director-General expressed the readiness of the Secretariat to continue to support the Kenyan efforts in adopting the legislation with a view to fully implement the Convention.