Kuwait participates in OPCW conference

The 18th session of the Conference of the States Parties of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons kicked off Monday in the Dutch city of The Hague, with a Kuwaiti participation. The head of the Kuwaiti delegation, counselor Ali Al-Thayedi told KUNA that the opening session witnessed the election of the President and members of committees and other technical commissions. He added that Iraq was elected to chair the conference. The Director General of OPCW Ahmet Uzumcu referred, in his speech, to the accomplishments that have been achieved during 2013, a challenging year for the organization. He praised the States Parties and the United Nations for their generous contributions in support of the work of the organization and reminded the world of the real dangers of chemical weapons and praised the OPCWs ambition to destroy these weapons in Syria during the first half of the year. This four-day conference will discuss several technical reports for the work of the organization and ways to strengthen international cooperation as well as discussing the action plan for the universality of the Convention. Alongside Al-Thayedi, the Kuwaiti delegation includes Brigadier Mashal Al-Janfawi, Engineer Jenan Al-Shayji, Counselor Mohsen Al-Ajmi and third Secretary Haif Al-Huwailah.