Morocco’s election to this new mandate, for the period from May 2025 to May 2027, once again testifies to the confidence of the States Parties in Morocco, in view of the Kingdom’s ongoing commitment to the noble objectives of the Convention, capable of contributing to the advent of a world free of chemical weapons.
During this 29th session, Morocco’s Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the OPCW, Mohamed Basri, leads the Kingdom’s delegation, which includes members of the national departments involved in implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention nationally.
This session’s agenda includes several items, including the monitoring of the implementation of the Convention’s provisions, which include the various capacity-building programs for the States Parties, the Organisation’s program budget for 2025, and measures to combat the re-emergence of the chemical threat.
Particular emphasis has been particularly placed on the new emerging technologies, particularly AI, on the Organisation’s agenda. At a time when AI is at the heart of global preoccupations, this large-scale event laid the foundations for in-depth reflection on the role, opportunities and challenges that advanced technologies represent for the Convention and its States Parties.
The Kingdom’s action in this regard was highly commended, both by OPCW Technical Secretariat officials, headed by Director-General Fernando Arias, and by the Organization’s Regional Groups and Member States. Morocco hosted the OPCW’s first-ever international Conference dedicated to the role of AI in advancing the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, held in Rabat on October 22-24.
On this occasion, the Moroccan Ambassador highlighted the Kingdom’s forward-looking vision on emerging technologies, mainly AI, which could be a “powerful tool for international peace and security.”
In this respect, Basri stressed the “collective duty” of Member States to ensure that AI can be exploited in an “ethical and responsible manner, and serve as a catalyst for a safe world, where peace is preserved for future generations.”
As part of the general debate, the Permanent Representative of Morocco reiterated the Kingdom’s position of principle and strong commitment to the objectives of disarmament, non-proliferation and the fight against weapons of mass destruction, while reaffirming “unwavering support for the noble objectives of the Convention.”
With regard to strengthening cooperation between the OPCW and Africa, the Ambassador stressed the importance of “active and active” South-South cooperation, as well as North-South and Triangular cooperation, taking into account the specific realities of each State Party and sub-region.
In this respect, he reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to optimizing collaboration between African member countries, notably through the organization of regional training courses aimed at building capacity and sharing best practices in this field, while highlighting the training courses and exercises recently held in Morocco for African States Parties.
The Kingdom has just completed a one-year term as Vice-Chairman, on behalf of the African Group, of the OPCW Conference of States Parties, from November 2023 to November 2024.
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