Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs and Chairman of the International Organizations Department at the Ministry, Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Kabeer, who is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Commission for Implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, opened a regional workshop for member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh today, which is being held in cooperation with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Addressing the three-day event, Prince Turki said that the agreement to dismantle chemical weapons, which became effective in April 1997, represents a significant landmark on the path of ridding the world of weapons of mass destruction. He said that the agreement is the first such international agreement to be negotiated multilaterally, and was subsequently adapted to incorporate the dismantling of all weapons of mass destruction under international monitoring. Endorsed by 155 member states until October 2003, the agreement achieved more international support that any other agreement, Prince Turki said. Saudi Arabia ratified the agreement on 9 August 1996, before it went into force.
In accordance with Article 7 of the agreement, the Saudi authorities formed a national commission to implement the agreement at the national level. Prince Turki briefed the gathering on some of the commission’s accomplishments thus far, including the organisation of inspection visits by international officials to factories in Jubail and Yanbu to ensure that they comply with international chemical manufacturing standards.
Prince Turki said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has repeatedly emphasized the importance of making the Middle East an area free of all weapons of mass destruction, without discrimination. He noted Israel’s possession of weapons of mass destruction.
Prince Turki said that the proliferation of chemical weapons and the threat of weapons of mass destruction prevent the achievement of stability and security in the international community.
Source: SPA
