Turkey extends funds to chemical weapons watchdog

By Abdullah Asiran

THE HAGUE (AA) - Turkey has pledged financial support to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for its new center of chemistry and technology.

Turkey provided €30,000 ($33,000) for the project to transform the laboratory of the OPCW to a center of chemistry and technology.

Turkey's Ambassador Saban Disli and OPCW General Director Fernando Arias participated in a ceremony held on Thursday in the watchdog's headquarters in The Hague.

Disli said that this financial support testifies Turkey's commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Arias thanked Turkey saying that the project is planned to complete in 2022.

A total of 21 countries and the EU have contributed to the project until now.

The OPCW, an implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, with its 193 member states, oversees the global endeavor to permanently eliminate chemical weapons.

*Writing by Fatih Hafiz Mehmet in Ankara