The Hague, 5 September 2000

A regional seminar on the Chemical Weapons Convention, co-hosted by the Government of China and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), is being held from 4-8 September 2000 in Beijing, China. This seminar is being attended by representatives of the following countries: Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Chad, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Israel, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. Some 50 participants from the Chinese National Authority and other coordinating bodies are also attending the seminar. The participating countries include the following five signatory States to the Chemical Weapons Convention: Chad, Cambodia, Israel, Madagascar and Thailand. Several OPCW Secretariat staff members and one resource person from the Argonne National Laboratory (USA) are also participating in the seminar.

In his welcome address, the Deputy Director-General of the Arms Control and Disarmament Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Mr Gu Ziping, said that China valued the performance of the Organisation and its achievements in the short period of time since the entry into force of the Convention. He added that it was, however, equally important to pay attention to the lessons learned in the implementation process and that there were quite a few challenges ahead of us. He mentioned the issue of enhancing the universality of the Convention and the need to effectively promote international cooperation programmes, among other things. Mr Gu Ziping also made reference to the issue of Japanese abandoned chemical weapons on Chinese territory - an issue which he expected would be resolved as soon as possible.

Speaking on behalf of the OPCW, the Deputy Director-General, Mr John Gee, who is on an official visit to China, thanked the Chinese Government for hosting the second such regional seminar, and for its hospitality, as well as for its strong commitment to the Convention. Mr Gee stated that, though the implementation of the Convention was proceeding smoothly, more needed to be done to achieve its objective of "a world free of chemical weapons". He emphasised that the Convention contained provisions that could be of paramount importance to developing countries, especially with regard to assistance, protection and international cooperation in the field of chemistry for peaceful purposes. On the issue of universality, the Deputy Director-General stated that "through accession to the Convention, countries demonstrate not only political commitment to the cause of disarmament, they also convey an important economic message to the international community." He called on those states in the Asian region that had not yet become States Parties to the Convention - Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cambodia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, and Thailand - to do so as soon as possible. Regarding the recent unprecedented developments on the Korean peninsula, Mr Gee stated that the "historic summit of last June between the two Koreas and subsequent developments have already had a major impact on regional as well as global stability and security."

The participants are engaged in lively discussion of a wide range of topical issues including declarations, universality, programmes for regional cooperation, assistance and protection, disarmament, global and regional security, and trade restrictions and their impact on the economy of States not party to the Convention.