Participants of the Regional Workshop on the Peaceful Development and Uses of Chemistry in Republic of Korea
The OPCW and the National Authority of the Republic of Korea (ROK) co-organised a workshop on the peaceful development and uses of chemistry in Seoul from 25 to 27 June 2013 for 27 participants from 17 States Parties in the Asia Region.* Participants included National Authority representatives, government officials responsible for chemical industry, representatives from chemical industry and their associations, academics and chemists. The workshop was opened by Mr. Chul-min Park, Deputy Director General in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The workshop was organised in response to a decision of the Conference of the States Parties at its 16th Session in December 2010, with a voluntary contribution from the ROK. Its purpose was to promote international cooperation programmes that focus on outreach to the chemical industry on industry-related aspects of Article XI of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The workshop aimed to enhance national capacities in the regional context, based on the ROK’s experiences in chemical technology and industrial development.
The agenda covered the implementation of the Convention, growth and development of the ROK’s chemical industry, the export control system, and challenges facing the chemical industry in Asia. It included presentations on chemical safety systems in the ROK and Japan, including Responsible Care® and a chemical safety rating system being developed for small scale enterprises in India. Participants visited the Lotte chemical plant at the Daesan petrochemical complex to learn about their approach to promoting chemical safety.
* Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Republic of Korea.