OPCW Deputy Director-General, Mrs. Grace Asirwatham (second from left), speaks at the Amman Security Colloquium on the “Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East – Impact on Global Non-Proliferation Efforts” in Amman, Jordan, on 13 – 14 November.
The Deputy Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Mrs. Grace Asirwatham, attended the Amman Security Colloquium on the “Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East – Impact on Global Non-Proliferation Efforts”, which was held in Amman, Jordan, on 13 – 14 November.
In her keynote speech [PDF – 37 KB] at the Inaugural of the Colloquium, the Deputy Director-General highlighted that the OPCW had risen to the new challenge of destruction of Syrians chemical weapons within compressed deadlines adding that it is an enormous undertaking which is significant for the future of the disarmament in the region. The Deputy Director-General emphasised that accession of two States in the Middle East who are outside of the Convention – namely, Egypt and Israel – would send a powerful signal on several fronts by multiplying the security benefits accruing from the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons.
The Deputy Director-General also participated in a panel discussion on the topic “A WMD-Free Zone in the Middle East – Obstacles and Opportunities” and the Media Workshop where she briefed the journalists in the region on the CWC and the OPCW activities.
In the margins of the Colloquium, the Deputy Director-General paid a courtesy call together with the Colloquium keynote speakers on H.E. Mr. Nasser Judeh, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.