Press Releases
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida Meets with Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
On February 9, commencing at 3:15 p.m. for approximately 30 minutes, Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs, held a meeting with H. E. Mr. Ahmet Üzümcü, Director-General, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapon (OPCW), who is making a working visit to Japan upon invitation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. An overview of the meeting is as follows.
1. At the outset, Minister Kishida said that he appreciates the important role the OPCW has played in the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons, and that he wants to further develop the cooperative relationship with the OPCW in order to eliminate chemical weapons.
2. In response, Director-General Üzümcü said that he appreciates Japan’s strong commitment to eliminating chemical weapons, including Japan’s cooperation with the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons, and that he wants to continue to cooperate closely.
3. Minister Kishida and Director-General Üzümcü exchanged views on such challenges as improving the effectiveness of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and confirmed that Japan and the OPCW will cooperate on tackling those challenges.
(Reference) The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
The OPCW is an international organization that was established pursuant to the Chemical Weapons Convention, which entered into force in April 1997. Its headquarters are in the Hague, Netherlands. In order to bring about the total prohibition and non-proliferation of chemical weapons worldwide, the OPCW monitors progress with the destruction of existing chemical weapons and their production facilities through inspections and other means. It also carries out industry inspections to prevent chemical agents for civilian purposes from being diverted for use in chemical weapons.
After chemical weapons were used in Syria in August 2013, an international effort was launched to completely eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons, and the OPCW led that effort in partnership with the United Nations. Partly in recognition of such contributions, in December 2013 the OPCW was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for its significant work on eliminating the world’s chemical weapons.
