The Hague, 20 May 2003

Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, H.E. Mr Riaz H. Khokhar,Visits OPCW

On Monday, 19 May 2003, the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, H.E. Mr Riaz H. Khokhar, accompanied by the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), H.E. Mr Mustafa Kamal Kazi, paid an official visit to the OPCW headquarters in The Hague.

The Foreign Secretary received a detailed briefing on the status of implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention including: the status of the destruction of the declared stockpiles of chemical weapons, the verified inactivation and destruction or conversion of all declared chemical weapons production facilities, as well the on-going verification at chemical-weapons related and industrial sites, in addition to an overview of the Organisation’s programme delivery in the areas of assistance and protection and international cooperation in the field of the peaceful uses of chemistry.

The Foreign Secretary expressed his satisfaction with the comprehensive and non-discriminatory implementation of the Convention, reiterating that Pakistan, in full compliance with its obligations under the Convention, had received its first industrial inspection. H.E. Mr Khokhar shared the view expressed by the OPCW’s Acting Director-General, Mr Brian Hawtin, that the inspection had been conducted very smoothly. Mr Hawtin also commended Pakistan’s contribution to the implementation of the Convention.

Pakistan signed the Chemical Weapons Convention on 13 January 1993 and deposited its instrument of ratification with the United Nations Secretary General on 28 October 1997. On 27 November 1997, Pakistan became a Member State of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.