The OPCW’s 13th Associate Programme ended today with a closing ceremony at the OPCW headquarters in The Hague. Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü addressed the gathering, which included representatives of diplomatic missions, and handed out certificates to 32 participants from as many Member States.*
The Associate Programme is based on an integrated approach combining academic and professional training for chemists and chemical engineers. The curriculum is designed to enhance national capacities for implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), in the context of promoting peaceful uses of chemistry in Member States whose economies are either developing or in transition. This year’s programme included participation in a 3-week “Chemical Engineering-Oriented Skills Development Course” at the University of Surrey, UK and three weeks of on-the-job training at 17 modern chemical industries in 12 Member States.
In his address to the closing ceremony, the Director-General noted that a total of 297 participants from 102 Member States have now benefitted from the programme, a large number of whom are actively involved in CWC implementation in their home countries. He emphasised the important contribution to the programme of Member States and the chemical industry as well as various international organisations, without whose firm support this programme could not be conducted.
* Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Barbados, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Honduras, India, Jordan, Malaysia, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Viet Nam, Zambia and Zimbabwe, received their certificates from the Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü