From 21 to 23 November 2005, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), paid an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
In his meeting with Director-General Pfirter on 22 November 2005, His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, emphasized the importance of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) as an indispensable treaty, contributing to regional and international security. He also expressed his appreciation for the work of the Organisation and its 175 Member States in their implementation of the CWC and on behalf of the Government assured the Director-General Pfirter of Saudi Arabia’s firm and continuing commitment to support the OPCW in its effort to achieve the objectives of the CWC.
Director-General Pfirter expressed on behalf of the Organisation his gratitude to His Royal Highness for the unwavering support provided by the Saudi authorities to the OPCW in its work to establish a universal chemical weapons ban.
His Royal Highness Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs, reiterated in his meeting with Director-General Pfirter Saudi Arabia’s strong support for the CWC’s objective of bringing about a chemical weapons-free world. Prince Saud Al-Faisal encouraged Director-General Pfirter to continue his vital work of expanding the membership of the OPCW, especially in the pursuit of universality in the Middle East.
During his visit, Director-General Pfirter also had the opportunity to meet His Royal Highness Prince Torki bin Muhammad bin Saud Al-Kabir, the Head of the Saudi National Authority for the Implementation of the CWC and Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with whom he discussed the OPCW’s continuing cooperation with Saudi Arabia to enhance the civil defence programmes relating to chemical protection, as well as the OPCW’s Action Plan to achieve full and effective national application of the CWC in the jurisdictions of all Member States.
On 22 November 2005, H.E. Dr Nizar Obeid Madani, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, opened with Director-General Pfirter a session of the Institute of Diplomatic Studies. Minister Madani stressed that the CWC embodies a non-discriminatory, consensus-based disarmament and non-proliferation regime, which is daily engaged in the elimination of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction.
In his keynote address to the Institute of Diplomatic Studies, Director-General Pfirter provided an overview of the CWC’s global implementation, as well as detailing the close cooperation between the OPCW and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including the OPCW’s three-year programme with Saudi Civil Defence on a national CW protection capacity-building project. Director-General Pfirter stressed the importance of achieving universal membership in the CWC. He noted that a number of States in the Middle East had yet to join the Convention and reiterated that chemical weapons are universally condemned and banned. Director-General Pfirter urged all States Parties to strengthen the dialogue with those States that have not yet formally pledged to uphold the chemical weapons ban by communicating the concrete benefits that accrue to the countries that join, as well as the indispensable contribution made by the CWC in protecting the global population against the latent threat of chemicals used as weapons.
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