Director-General meets in Berlin with Foreign Minister, other high-level officials; delivers remarks at launch event for think tank to strengthen global norm against chemical and biological weapons.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands—29 April 2022—The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Ambassador Fernando Arias paid an official visit to Germany today. The visit coincides with the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and establishment of the OPCW.

The Director-General met with Germany’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Ms Annalena Baerbock, exchanging on the current challenges facing the CWC and how to counter them.

The Director-General also met with State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ms Susanne Baumann, and high-ranking officials of the Federal Ministry of Defence and Federal Chancellor’s Office.

While in Berlin, the Director-General delivered remarks at the launch of the competence network CBWNet think tank, a four-year project involving four research institutions from German universities which have joined forces to strengthen the norm against chemical and biological weapons. The group will provide analysis of threats to the global consensus against these weapons and propose recommendations for policymakers to consider implementing to uphold the norm.

Director-General Arias underlined in his remarks: “The success of the Convention over the past quarter century is the result of the commitment of its States Parties. However, to confidently meet our open-ended agenda to prevent the re-emergence of chemical weapons we will need all stakeholders to play their part. This includes governments, civil society, academia, chemical industry, and the entire international community. I would like to commend the four German research institutions for the launch of CBWNet. The OPCW stands ready to cooperate with you in this initiative.”

(Quelle: OPCW)

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