The OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, visited Berlin on 7 and 8 June 2010 where he met with the State Secretary of the Federal Foreign Office, H.E. Dr Wolf-Ruthart Born, on 7 June.
In their discussion Director-General Pfirter updated Dr Born on the status of implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), including the destruction of global chemical weapons stockpiles. Dr Born expressed his appreciation for the work of the OPCW and reaffirmed Germany’s firm commitment to the CWC.
After their meeting the Director-General joined Dr Born and Peter Gottwald, Commissioner of the Federal Government for Arms Control and Disarmament, in opening a 2-day international conference entitled “OPCW’s Contribution to the International Security Dimension: Achievements and Challenges.” The conference was co-organised by the OPCW and the German Government with financial support from the European Union, and attracted representatives from 61 OPCW Member States, three non-Member States (Egypt, Israel, Myanmar) and more than a dozen international organizations, industry associations, research institutes and NGOs.
In his opening remarks Dr Born lauded the OPCW as an “exemplary case of multilateralism” that has proved it is possible to effectively address questions of disarmament and non-proliferation through multilateral action. He attributed the OPCW’s high reputation to its strong culture of constructive engagement and consensus among a community of equal partners, which, he added, is “also due to Ambassador Pfirter’s solution-oriented and integrative approach as Director-General.”
Following his statement Dr Born bestowed on Director-General Pfirter the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his service in the cause of chemical disarmament and international security.
On his part the Director-General expressed deep gratitude for receiving the high distinction. He thanked the German Government for its long-standing support in facilitating the work of the OPCW. He underlined the need to continually promote universality of the CWC as well as its effective implementation by broadening interaction at the regional and international levels. The Director-General also stressed the need to expand our understanding of new means or methods that have the potential to circumvent the CWC’s prohibitions, a challenge in which governments as well as civil society institutions, academics and scientists have an important role to play.
OPCW NEWS 16/2010 | THE HAGUE, 9 JUNE 2010