Top team from the Hague starts Lanka’s first industrial chemical sessions
View(s):Sri Lanka has kicked off its first ever industrial chemical technical sessions on 17 December with a top team from the Hague’s (Netherlands) OPCW- which conducted the widely publicised Syrian chemical weapon inspections in October 2013– being here to upgrade Sri Lanka’s industrial chemical expertise to the next level.
“Chemical safety and security measures help to prevent re-emergence of chemical weapons and misuse of toxic chemicals. The SAARC region has become very important for our overview, thereby also engaging in intra-regional cooperation,” said Ms Grace Asirwatham, the Sri Lankan born Deputy Director General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-OPCW) in Colombo on 17 December.
Ms Asirwatham, who is leading the OPCW delegation to Colombo from Netherlands, was addressing the inaugural event of “Chemical Security and Safety for Sustainable Industrial Development for Member States of the OPCW in the SAARC” sessions in Colombo, according to a Commerce Ministry media release.
Representatives from the SAARC region – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and observer countries (USA, Qatar) were present at the session. Among the Sri Lankan private sector firms taking part were Holcim Lanka, A. Baur & Co, Janet Ayurvedic Ltd and Sanichem (Pvt) Ltd while representatives from the Sri Lanka Army, Navy, Police, and Sri Lanka Customs too were taking part.
Ms. Asirwatham said that this is very exciting time for OPCW’s efforts as the focus of its efforts gradually shift from destruction of chemical weapons to preventing their re-emergence.
“This is happening against the backdrop of a schanging strategic landscape, and a backdrop of impressive advances in science and technology. This is also in the context of the increasing globalisation of chemical industry and a growing proliferation threat from non-state actors. The world has changed considerably since 1993 when chemical weapons convention was opened for signature. Advances in science and technology have created new risks. That is why enhancing chemical safety and security is so important for our collective efforts to reduce the risks posed by toxic chemicals. This not only helps us to enhance our national implementation of the convention but also by protecting our population against exposure to dangerous chemicals,” he said.