OPCW Director-General meets the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — 14 May 2018 — The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, H.E. Mr Nikola Dimitrov, met today with the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, at OPCW Headquarters in The Hague.
Minister Dimitrov and the Director-General discussed a number of issues pertaining to the OPCW’s work on the implementation the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Director-General also provided the Minister with a briefing on OPCW’s efforts to eliminate the Syrian chemical weapons programme and on other activities related to international cooperation, national implementation, assistance and protection, and universality.
The Director-General conveyed his gratitude for Skopje’s commitment to OPCW’s aims and activities and expressed his confidence in continued close cooperation.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, H.E. Mr Nikola Dimitrov’s vist to the OPCW
The Foreign Minister remarked: “Recently, we celebrated 21 years since the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force. Anniversaries are always an excellent occasion to reflect upon achievements as well as challenges, especially in the current complex setting around the world. We fully support the noble mission of the OPCW to secure a world free of chemical weapons, a mission that was recognised and awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize to the OPCW in 2013. We are also determined to show our dedication through the role of OPCW’s Eastern European Group’s Regional Coordinator, which we assumed on 12 May.”
Minister Dimitrov was accompanied by Chargé d’Affaires of the Permanent Representation of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the OPCW, Ms Aleksandra Pop-Stefanija Sazdov, and other members of the delegation.
Background
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997.
As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention’s entry into force in 1997 – with its 192 States Parties – it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.
Over 96 per cent of all chemical weapon stockpiles declared by possessor States have been destroyed under OPCW verification. For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Prize for Peace.