OPCW Director-General Visits Ecuador and Opens Regional Meeting

At the invitation of the Government of Ecuador, Director-General Rogelio Pfirter visited Quito on Tuesday, 6 May 2008 where he opened the IX Regional Meeting of National Authorities of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The meeting serves as a forum for States Parties to present their needs for assistance, to indicate what assistance they can offer to other States Parties, and to confer on what additional steps may be needed to implement obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention. The meeting by turn helps the Technical Secretariat determine how it can enhance its assistance to States Parties.

While in Quito the Director-General met with the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Integration, Mr José Valencia. He expressed appreciation to the Vice-Minister for Ecuador’s valuable support to the Chemical Weapons Convention and the OPCW, and provided an overview of the Convention’s implementation. He asked for Ecuador’s continued support for achieving universal adherence to the Convention and its full implementation, particularly in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Director-General also met with the dean of the Escuela Politécnica Nacional (EPN), Ing. Alfonso Espinosa, and visited EPN’s laboratories.

Categories: Latin America and the Caribbean, National implementation, Outreach