The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and Qatar’s National Committee for Prohibition of Weapons (NCPW) jointly hosted a seminar on the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and Chemical Safety and Security Management for Asian Member States from 19 to 21 March 2023 in Doha, Qatar. 

In his opening remarks, Brigadier General Abdulaziz Salmeen Aljabri, Chairman of the NCPW, highlighted the importance of chemical safety and security management, a key element related to the implementation of the CWC’s Article XI.

“Ensuring chemical safety and security management requires interaction across different sectors, including academia and industry,” he added. 

The Head of OPCW’s International Cooperation Branch expressed gratitude to Qatar for its continuous support to the Organisation and gave updates on the OPCW Centre for Chemistry and Technology (ChemTech Centre) which will significantly enhance the Organisation’s capabilities to rid the world of chemical weapons and provide further capacity building opportunities for Member States.

The seminar, fully funded by Qatar, contributes to Asian Member States’ capacity in various aspects of chemical safety and security management, including new technologies as well as tackling emerging threats to the chemical industry, such as cybersecurity and drone attacks. 

Since 2011, the Doha Workshop has been one of the long-standing courses on chemical safety and security management funded by Qatar to support Asian Member States’ chemical emergency preparedness. 

The seminar was attended by 26 international participants (20 of which received financial support to attend the event) from 18 OPCW Member States (Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Thailand,  Sri Lanka, Viet Nam) as well as a number of local participants from Qatar.