Mr Bernard Wientjes, Chairman of VNO-NCW, Visits the OPCW

On 13 September 2007, Mr Bernard Wientjes, Chairman of the Netherlands Confederation of Industry and Employers, VNO-NCW, visited the Headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and met the Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter. Mr Wientjes was accompanied by H.E. Mr Maarten Lak, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the OPCW.

During the meeting, Director-General Pfirter and Chairman Wientjes exchanged views on issues relating to the Chemical Weapons Convention and the work of the OPCW. Director-General Pfirter commended the unwavering commitment of the Government of the Netherlands in the implementation of the CWC and its strong support to the work of the OPCW.

Director-General Pfirter reiterated that the relationship with the Netherlands, the OPCW’s host country, was excellent, as was evident from the positive interaction between the OPCW and the Government of the Netherlands.

Chairman Wientjes and Director-General Pfirter also discussed the involvement of the global chemical industry in the promotion of the peaceful uses of chemistry and its support for the ban on chemical weapons through its full cooperation with the OPCW’s verification regime that helps to ensure that chemistry is used solely for peaceful purposes.

The VNO-NCW is the largest employers’ organisation in the Netherlands, representing more than 115,000 enterprises.

PR94 / 2007

Categories: Non-proliferation of chemical weapons, Outreach, Western Europe and Other States