MFA Press Statement - Visit of Mr Rogelio Pfirter, DG of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, 28-30 Oct 2003

Mr Rogelio Pfirter, Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), will visit Singapore from 28 to 30 October 2003 at the invitation of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Professor S Jayakumar.

Elected into office in July 2002, Ambassador Pfirter is making his first official visit to Singapore as Director-General of the OPCW. He will be accompanied by his Chief of Cabinet, Mr Rafael Mariano Grossi.

Ambassador Pfirter will meet Minister for Foreign Affairs Professor S Jayakumar, Minister for Defence Rear-Admiral (NS) Teo Chee Hean, and visit the Centre for Chemical Defence of DSO National Laboratories, where Singapore's chemical verification expertise and facilities reside. The DSO's chemical verification laboratory is one of the 15 laboratories worldwide that have been designated by the OPCW to test for the presence of chemical warfare agents and related compounds.

Ambassador Pfirter will address the First Regional Meeting of National Authorities of States Parties in Asia to be held at the Merchant Court Swissotel from 29 to 31 October 2003. The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr Raymond Lim, will open the Meeting.

This First Regional Meeting of National Authorities of States Parties in Asia, jointly organised by Singapore and the OPCW, will gather States Parties from the Asian region to initiate and launch a collective platform for National Authorities of States Parties in Asia to discuss possible cooperative measures in the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The CWC, which entered into force on 29 April 1997, is the only international treaty that addresses the proliferation of chemical weapons.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
27 OCTOBER 2003