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| Vietnamese Ambassador to the Netherlands Ngo Huong Nam (L) and OPCW General Director Fernando Arias.__Photo: VNA |
Vietnamese Ambassador to the Netherlands Ngo Huong Nam has suggested the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) support Vietnam in improving the country’s capability through the agency’s training activities.
At a meeting with OPCW General Director Fernando Arias in The Hague on September 18, Nam called on the OPCW to provide Vietnam with new or used chemical analysis equipment when upgrading the Centre for Chemistry and Technology (Chemtech) to help Vietnam improve the capacity of its laboratories.
The ambassador, who came to present his credentials to the OPCW, also proposed the organization consider recruiting Vietnamese staff to work at the OPCW and Chemtech, affirming that he will do his utmost to maintain and further foster relations between the OPCW and Vietnam.
Nam said 2023 is a particularly significant year for the OPCW, marked by a series of important events, including a conference to review its operations over the past five years and the inauguration of Chemtech.
According to the diplomat, OPCW member states completed the destruction of declared chemical weapons, marking a significant milestone for the organization as it is shifting its mission of destruction to preempting the production, storage, and use of chemical weapons.
For his part, Arias welcomed the appointment of Ambassador Ngo Huong Nam as Vietnam’s permanent representative to the OPCW, expressing his belief that the diplomat would fulfill his mission effectively, contributing positively to the relationship between the two countries in general, and between Vietnam and the OPCW in particular.
He acknowledged Nam’s proposals, and mentioned the possibility of providing chemical analysis equipment for laboratories in Vietnam.
As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW, with its 193 member states, oversees the global endeavor to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention’s entry into force in 1997, it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction. Vietnam is one of the early members of the Convention and has consistently participated fully and actively in the OPCW.-(VNA/VLLF)
