The Government of the Republic of India has voluntarily contributed €10,000 to the Voluntary Fund for Assistance of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), for coordinating and delivering assistance under Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
The Voluntary Fund for Assistance is aimed to provide and deliver direct emergency or supplementary assistance and protection that may be needed in the case of the use or threat of use of chemical weapons. Such assistance may include the provision of experts, financing for individual or group training, and the provision of protection equipment and medical supplies.
The voluntary contribution was formalised on 3 December 2024 in a signing ceremony held between the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Republic of India to the OPCW, H.E. Mr Kumar Tuhin, and the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Fernando Arias, at the Organisation's Headquarters in The Hague.
Ambassador Tuhin expressed his pleasure at this contribution to the Voluntary Fund for Assistance. He noted that "Through this gesture, India has reiterated its support and commitment towards effective implementation of the CWC and towards a world free of chemical weapons."
Director-General Arias stated: "I wish to thank the Government of India for its voluntary contribution. This contribution underscores India's steadfast commitment to the principles of the CWC and to enhancing international cooperation and assistance. It also reinforces global efforts to uphold the norm against chemical weapons and to ensure that all OPCW Member States are prepared to respond effectively to chemical emergencies."
Background
India has been an active member of the OPCW since the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force in 1997. India is a member of the Executive Council, the OPCW's executive organ, which is tasked with promoting the effective implementation of and compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention as well as supervising the activities of the Organisation's Technical Secretariat.
To date, India has contributed a total of EUR 757,011 to three OPCW trust funds, including EUR 20,000 to the Trust Fund for a Centre for Chemistry and Technology in 2021.
As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW, with its 193 Member States, oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention's entry into force in 1997, it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.
In 2023, the OPCW verified that all chemical weapons stockpiles declared by the 193 States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention since 1997 - totalling 72,304 metric tonnes of chemical agents - have been irreversibly destroyed under the OPCW's strict verification regime.
For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.
