The OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, paid an official visit to Riga, Latvia on 30 September and 1 October 2008 for a series of meetings with high-level government officials.
In his meeting with the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Normans Penke, the Director-General provided an update on the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), including the progress being made towards eliminating global chemical weapons stockpiles. Director-General Pfirter commended Latvia for its implementation of the Convention and its close cooperation with the OPCW. The State Secretary expressed Latvia’s firm commitment to the goals of the CWC and assured the Director-General of his country’s continuing strong support for the work of the OPCW.
Director-General Pfirter also met with the State Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Mr Guntis Puķītis; the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Ēriks Zunda; and other high-level ministerial officials.
In addition, while in Riga the Director-General visited the Center of Emergency and Disaster Medicine, and Grindex, a leading pharmaceutical company in the Baltics.