The Class of 2015 of the Associates Programme, the Director-General, the Deputy Director-General and OPCW staff.
The sixteenth edition of the 10-week Associate Programme concluded successfully on 2 October 2015 with a closing ceremony held at OPCW Headquarters. Thirty one participants from 29 Member States* received their certificates from the Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü.
As part of the programme, participants upgraded their knowledge in terms of the national implementation of the Convention. In addition, they undertook a three-week university module, organised by the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as a three-week industrial attachment in 17 modern chemical industries located in 11 Member States. During the university module, the participants benefited from an intensive chemical engineering skills-development course. During the industrial attachment, participants gained exposure to working environments in the chemical industry and received training on various industrial operations.
Addressing the closing ceremony, the Director-General described the Associate Programme as a leading international cooperation programme in the field of chemistry for peaceful purposes. He noted that the programme has reached its 16th milestone with 392 participants from 116 Member States trained. A large number of former participants are actively involved in CWC implementation in their home countries.
The Director-General emphasised the important contribution of the OPCW Member States, without whose firm support this unique programme could not be conducted. He expressed his gratitude to these Member States. The Director-General also gratefully acknowledged the support received in the context of the Industry Segment of the programme this year from the Governments of Brazil, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Spain as well as their respective national chemical associations.
Ambassador Üzümcü expressed his appreciation also to the University of Surrey for the excellent cooperation provided to the OPCW Associate Programme and noted the strong support extended by the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) under their Responsible Care policy. He also gratefully acknowledged the cooperation extended by individual companies for this programme . In this context, it was particularly noteworthy that the Associate Programme has further expanded this year and was implemented in the GRULAC region for the first time, thanks to a Brazilian offer from the company Suatrans.
Download the Remarks by Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü at the Closing Ceremony of the Associate Programme [PDF, 118 KB].