Indonesia hosted a three-day training course for representatives of Asian national authorities involved in fulfilling Article 10 of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in late March, the country’s Foreign Ministry said on April 1.

As a joint effort between the Indonesian Government and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the course included management training and discussions on operation mechanisms of emergency responses at national and regional levels, attracting representatives from national agencies and industrial chemical enterprises across Asia.

Basic Chemical Industry Director Muhammad Khayam at the Indonesian Ministry of Industry said the training aims to boost the capacity and cooperation of regional countries in handling chemical-weapon assaults and potential leaks of hazardous chemicals in accordance with Article 10 of the CWC.

Attendees appreciated the communication network formed as a result of the course, which they said would facilitate information exchange among Asian countries.

The CWC focuses on eliminating weapons of mass-destruction through banning the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use of chemical weapons by States parties.

Indonesia became a signatory to the CWC in 1993 and ratified it in 1998.-VNA