OPCW Director-General Üzümcü addresses International Council of Chemical Associations in Vienna

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü recently gave a speech at the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) in Vienna, Austria, to highlight the organization’s cooperation with industry as it works to complete the destruction of all declared chemical weapons stockpiles.

In a speech, Üzümcü described the OPCW’s relationship with industry as a “pillar of success” and stated that building bridges with organizations like the ICCA was vital to the OPCW’s future endeavors.

“Amidst the shift in focus away from stockpiles to preventing their re-emergence, the OPCW’s cooperation with the industry will assume greater significance, especially in chemical safety and security,” Üzümcü said.

At the conclusion of the Director-General’s speech, members of the ICCA board of directors expressed a willingness to continue its partnership with the OPCW “to the benefit of humankind.”

Üzümcü also had the opportunity to meet with the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, as well as the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, Lassina Zerbo.

OPCW serves as the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), a disarmament treaty aimed at eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.

Entered into force in 1997, the CWC has led to the destruction of more than 96 percent of chemical weapons stockpiles declared by possessor states under OPCW verification protocols.