The OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, right, with the Foreign Minister of Australia, Hon. Julie Bishop MP.
The OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, met this morning with the Foreign Minister of Australia, Hon. Julie Bishop MP, who is in The Hague to attend the third Nuclear Security Summit.
The Director-General provided the Foreign Minister an overview of the global implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, including the ongoing OPCW-UN Joint Mission to remove and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons programme. He also highlighted the need for the six remaining non-member countries to join the Chemical Weapons Convention and thereby achieve universality of the treaty, in order to ensure a world free of chemical weapons.
The Director-General commended Australia for its support to the work of the OPCW, including its voluntary contribution to the Syria mission, and for its efforts to encourage non-States Parties to join the Convention without delay. The Foreign Minister affirmed Australia’s continued commitment and support.
The NSS opened today at the World Forum located next to the OPCW’s Technical Secretariat, which has been temporarily converted to house part of the international media corps covering the summit. The meeting with Ms Bishop is one of a series the Director-General will have this week with world leaders attending the NSS. The Director-General will attend the summit as a VIP observer.
For more details on the OPCW’s activities, visit http://www.opcw.org