Slovenia hosts Regional Meeting of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

Group photo from the Regional Meeting of OPCW's Member States. | Author MZEZ

The meeting provides an opportunity to discuss national legislation, capacity-building programmes and other current issues related to chemical safety and international cooperation. The two-day event brought together 18 representatives of OPCW National Authorities from Eastern European Member States to discuss the practical challenges and best practices involved in implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention and to further strengthen regional collaboration.

The programme includes country presentations, an overview of the OPCW's activities to date and discussions on current issues and challenges. Particular focus is given to the impact of artificial intelligence and to the role of academia in ensuring chemical safety and preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Slovenia actively cooperates with the OPCW and consistently implements the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons, and requires their destruction under international control. The Convention's objective is to eliminate all chemical weapons and prevent their future use. With 193 States Parties, the Convention is one of the most successful and widely ratified. The Slovenian Chemicals Office is responsible for its implementation at the national level. The Office supervises industrial activities involving strategic chemicals and collaborates with the OPCW to conduct international inspections.

On 12 May Slovenia became a member of the OPCW Executive Council, the Organisation's governing body responsible for promoting compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention. During its two-year term, Slovenia will work to prevent the proliferation of chemical weapons and strengthen trust and security within the international community. In his opening remarks at the OPCW Regional Meeting in Ljubljana, Boštjan Peršin, representing the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, emphasised that supporting the development of new technologies and the peaceful and safe use of chemistry would be among Slovenia's key priorities on the Executive Council. By collaborating with the OPCW, including co-organising the current Regional Meeting, Slovenia has demonstrated its commitment to the highest standards of chemical safety, transparency and the responsible use of chemicals for peaceful purposes.