Morocco Chairs 98th Session of OPCW Executive Council

Morocco, in the person of Ambassador and Permanent Representative Abdelouahab Bellouki, is chairing the 98th session of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which will take place from 5 to 8 October in The Hague. The Executive Council will review the latest developments in the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The issues on the agenda of this Council include the process of destruction of chemical weapons, measures against the re-emergence of chemical weapons, as well as the OPCW’s program for strengthening cooperation with Africa. This session of the Executive Council is an essential step in the work of the Organization as it considers several important issues, including the program budget of the Organization (2022-2023), for submission for adoption to the Conference of States Parties, scheduled from November 29 to December 3, 2021. The presidency by Morocco of this important decision-making body, for the period May 2021-May 2022, enshrines the continued commitment of the Kingdom to the objectives of the Convention and sustained cooperation with the OPCW to contribute to the advent of a world free of chemical weapons, said a statement by the Embassy of the Kingdom in The Hague. The intense cooperation of Morocco with the OPCW is marked, in particular, by the organization in Morocco of several conferences, as well as multiple regional training courses aimed at strengthening the capacities of representatives of African countries.