The Deputy Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Hamid Ali Rao, recently visited Mexico where he discussed the importance of preparedness against chemical emergencies and peaceful uses of chemistry.
Rao opened the Table Top Exercise on Chemical Emergency Response for the States Parties from Latin America and the Caribbean, hosted by Mexico’s National Authority, by discussing the threat of chemical terrorism. He highlighted the globalized nature of the world and the dangers of non-State actors obtaining toxic chemicals. He also noted OPCW’s role helping states respond to chemical emergencies.
The Deputy Director-General also delivered a lecture at the Faculty of Chemistry at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in which he emphasized the importance of promoting the use of chemical science purely for peaceful purposes. He also told attendees that eliminating chemical weapons and promoting the use of chemistry for peace must be a collaborative effort.
“The real guardians against chemical weapons are you – the current and future chemists, chemical engineers and researchers,” Rao said.
During his visit, the Deputy Director-General also met with the secretary general of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL), Ambassador Luiz Filipe de Macedo Soares; the director at the Centre of Investigation and National Security (CISEN), Jose Juan Gutiérrez; and the head of the National Authority for the Chemical Weapons Convection, Dr. Eduardo Vázquez Rossainz.