Status of international cooperation as at February 2009

Following are the paragraphs related to international cooperation contained in the opening statement by the OPCW Director-General to the Executive Council at its 55th session.

During the reporting period, various activities have also been carried out in the area of international cooperation. You will no doubt recall the very successful one-day event for National Authorities that was organised on 1 December 2008 at the OPCW headquarters, at the request of, and with financial support from, the European Union (EU). The aim of the European Union-sponsored day was to promote an interactive workshop to assist National Authorities with capacity-building in relation to the implementation of the Convention, and to enhance their dialogue with the industry. More than 190 participants from 87 States Parties were present in the various activities organised on the occasion, which included legal workshops, industry panels, and presentations delivered during the plenary.

A compilation of the presentations made at the European Union-sponsored day will be published soon and made available to Member States. Here I would like to mention that the EU has expressed its willingness to renew its generous support for the activities of the OPCW through a new Joint Action, which will build on the work done in the past years. Work in preparation for this Joint Action is already under way and is expected to be completed in the next few months. Once again, we are extremely grateful to the EU for its continued support and financial contributions. This support is evidence of the Union’s own strong commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention and, hopefully, of its full confidence in our ability to deliver high-quality programmes.

Preparations are also ongoing for the 2009 Associate Programme, which will be held this year from 17 July to 25 September, for 28 participants. I would like to take this opportunity to invite Member States to continue supporting this highly successful programme by offering training opportunities in their chemical industries.

The courses on the development of analytical skills have been expanded. A major new feature is the launching of the Basic Analytical Chemistry Course, which will be held from 23 March to 4 April. This new initiative under the OPCW Africa Programme is jointly organised by the OPCW; by Protechnik Laboratories in Pretoria, South Africa; and by the Finnish Institute for the Verification of the Chemical Weapons Convention (VERIFIN). The course will be held at Protechnik Laboratories, and will train 12 African chemistry professionals (out of a total of over 40 applications received) who are involved in the analysis, synthesis, or quality control of chemicals related to the Convention.

Under the Conference-Support Programme two conferences, in Bangladesh and in Croatia, have been approved for support.