Üzümcü impressed, wraps up successful tour with a floating banquet

As the tenth Regional Chemical meet topped 60 delegates from 32 countries, Netherland based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü announced that he was highly taken up over the event. “It was a fruitful visit with our tenth Regional Meeting starting off successfully in Colombo. I am also highly impressed with Minister Bathiudeen’s arrangements for our 60 international delegates from 32 countries,” Üzümcü who successfully concluded his two day visit to Sri Lanka on the same night revealed.

Üzümcü made the comment while attending the special banquet hosted by Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen on 26 June eve at the 8 Degrees floating restaurant of Cinnamon Lakeside to felicitate Üzümcü and the 60 international invitees from 35 countries. The 60 delegates specially arrived here to take part in the tenth Regional Meeting of the National Authorities of States Parties of Asia and also to meet Üzümcü.   

Minister Bathiudeen hosted the evening’s event and was seen individually speaking to the international delegates. Along with Minister Bathiudeen, top officials of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Department of Commerce, and Ambassador of Netherlands to Sri Lanka Louis Piët, Deputy Chief of Cabinet-Office of the DG-OPCW Barkin Kayaoglu, Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs Karunatilaka Amunugama, Director General of Customs Dr. Neville Gunawardena, Senior Minister of Urban Affairs A.H.M Fowzie, Senior Minister of Rural Affairs Athauda Seneviratne, and Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Netherlands and Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the OPCW Buddhi Athauda were also in attendance. “I am also impressed with the levels of coordination, level of hospitality and commitment of the Government of Sri Lanka towards the OPCW and Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,” Üzümcü added.