Powerful international chemical chief visiting on Rishad’s invite

Effective control of trade chemicals is as important as regulation of lethal chemical weapons.

“My Ministry is designing a chemical emergency first responders’ plan for Sri Lanka. The forthcoming visit of Ahmet Üzümcü, the Director-General of Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), will pave way for better understanding of global compliance standards that we intend to achieve as part of this plan,” announced Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen.

Bathiudeen was elaborating on Üzümcü’s forthcoming visit to Sri Lanka this month. Üzümcü, who is visiting Sri Lanka on Minister Bathiudeen’s invitation, will be taking part in the Tenth Regional Meeting of National Authorities of States Parties in Asia, scheduled to take part from 26-28 June in Colombo.

Sri Lanka became a member state of the powerful OPCW in 1997 and was one of the first countries in the world to ratify the convention. The inter-governmental, Hague based OPCW represents 98% of the worldwide chemical industry and is the implementer of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), with the mandate to ensure the implementation of its CWC provisions, international verification of compliance with it, and to provide a forum for consultation and cooperation among members.  

Dr. Rohan P. Perera, Dir-ector, National Authority for the Implementation of Chemical Weapons Convention under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, revealed: “The Tenth Regional Meeting in Colombo starting June 26 will focus on, among others, the status of implementation of the convention, round table discussions on regulatory and legislative implementation of it and OPCW’s web-based tools and e-based support. What is more important is that the event will see reps from not only Asia but also from the Pacific region.” The relevant national legislation for Sri Lanka is the Chemical Weapons Convention Act No. 58 of 2007. Under the Act, it is an offence to manufacture use or trade certain toxic chemicals listed in the Convention without the approval of the National Authority established for implementing the Convention in Sri Lanka. In October 2011, Minister Bathiudeen’s Ministry launched the first ever Chemical Awareness Session for 52 private and State sector organisations involved in imports and exports.