The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, paid an official visit to the United Mexican States on 14 and 15 February 2007 and met the Under Secretary for Multilateral Affairs, Mr Juan Manuel Gómez-Robledo. In their meeting, Under Secretary Gómez-Robledo reaffirmed Mexico’s staunch and continuing support for the OPCW in its mission to achieve the complete elimination of chemical weapons. He also reiterated his Government’s firm commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), a non-discriminatory multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation treaty that enhances global peace and security.
Director-General Pfirter thanked Under Secretary Gómez-Robledo for his Government’s invaluable support for the OPCW and acknowledged the valuable contribution made by the Mexican Government in its support of the objectives of the CWC.
He briefed Under Secretary Gómez-Robledo on the global implementation by 181 OPCW Member States in their common undertaking to eliminate chemical weapons and to prevent their use in the future. Director-General Pfirter emphasized the significance of universal adherence to the Convention and the full and effective implementation of all provisions by Member States in order to ensure its ultimate success. He commended the Mexican Government for its progress in completing the national implementing legislation and looked forward to its passage by Congress this year.
Under Secretary Gómez-Robledo and Director-General Pfirter also discussed the CWC’s national implementation, including the regulation on international transfers of chemicals relevant to the Convention, in order to ensure that chemicals are not diverted for purposes prohibited by the CWC.
During his official visit, Director-General Pfirter also met H.E. Guillermo Valdés Castellanos, the Head of the Mexican National Authority and the Director General of the Centre of Investigation and National Security. In their meeting they exchanged views on the challenges ahead that were being addressed by the OPCW, such as the verified destruction of the global chemical weapons stockpile and the potential threat posed by chemical weapons proliferation.
PR7 / 2007