OPCW Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü at his reception by Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. (Source: Al Riyadh)
The Director-General and OIC Secretary General, H.E. Prof Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.
The OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, visited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 12 and 13 May 2013. During visits to Riyadh and Jeddah he met with senior government officials and delivered an address at the King Fahd Hall at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
While in Jeddah the Director-General had meetings with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz; His Royal Highness the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud. He also had meetings with His Excellency Dr Nizar Obaid Madani, State Minister for Foreign Affairs and His Highness Prince Dr. Turki Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Kabeer, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Multilateral Relations and Head of the Board of the National Authority; among others in Riyadh.
In his meetings, the Director-General provided an overview of the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), including the status of destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles and prevention of their re-emergence. He also discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between the Kingdom and the OPCW. The Director-General commended the Kingdom for its firm commitment to the CWC and strong support for the work of the OPCW, which the Saudi officials reaffirmed.
In his address at King Fahd Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Director-General delivered a lecture to an audience of nearly 100 ambassadors, diplomats and representatives of civil and military authorities of the Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. Following Director General’s presentation covering issues in the OPCW’s agenda, the attendees showed a keen interest in the Q&A session, where they fielded questions to the Director-General on issues of chemical weapons destruction, regional and international security, and future challenges of the OPCW.
Director-General Üzümcü also visited the headquarters of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) where he met with its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mohammed Al Mady and his aides for industrial affairs.
On the second day of his visit, the Director-General also had a meeting with H.E. Prof. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Both senior officials exchanged views on possible cooperation activities between OPCW and OIC.