Excellencies,
Distinguished representatives,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to deliver the closing remarks for the 26th Annual Meeting of National Authorities.
I wish to start by congratulating you on concluding another successful Meeting.
This year has seen the highest-ever number of registrations for this event, a testament to your dedication to strengthening the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Your active engagement during the presentations and the discussions has been instrumental in achieving the objectives of this Annual Meeting, and its success is the result of your commitment to sharing prior experiences, ongoing challenges, capacity gaps, and priorities.
This important input will inform the planning and design of future capacity development activities of the International Cooperation and Assistance Division.
Dear participants,
The Meeting this week provided an opportunity for the Technical Secretariat and States Parties to interact and to discuss ways to effectively deliver capacity development support by assessing needs, exchanging best practices, and improving national programmatic design activities.
In line with tradition, this Meeting has also provided valuable updates on Technical Secretariat support to national stakeholders, in collaboration with relevant external partners.
The discussions were enriched by important contributions from the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, the World Customs Organization, INTERPOL, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the University of West Indies.
They shared their expertise and provided valuable context along with complementary perspectives.
Dear participants,
As you return to your respective countries to continue your work on advancing the national implementation of the Convention, I wish to underline that the Secretariat remains available to provide support to National Authorities as well as stakeholders in public service, academia, and the chemical industry.
We are committed to tailoring our efforts to meet the specific needs of the States Parties and we look forward to exploring new opportunities for collaboration.
Before closing, I would like to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude to our colleagues in the ICA Division, and in particular our colleagues in the Implementation Support Branch, for their efforts towards organising this important Meeting.
A special thank-you goes to the interpreters for their excellent work and flexibility throughout the Meeting.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all of you, once again, for your valuable participation in this 26th Annual Meeting.
I wish you a pleasant rest of your afternoon here in The Hague and safe travels home.
Thank you for your kind attention.