Netherlands - Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons – Visit by Jean-Yves Le Drian to The Hague and Amsterdam (1-2 November 2019)
Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian will be in the Netherlands on November 1 and 2. This visit reflects the close cooperation between our two countries, both founding members of the European Union and leading partners on international issues.
With his Dutch counterpart, Stef Blok, the minister will continue our ongoing dialogue on top European issues, especially Brexit, the future European budget, and the EU’s enlargement policy. The ministers will discuss the management of major international crises and will talk about the external operations to which both of our countries contribute, as well as our cooperation on conflict prevention and stabilization, specifically in the Sahel.
During his trip to The Hague, Mr. Le Drian will also meet with Fernando Arias, director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The minister will reaffirm France’s support for the OPCW, a key component of the chemical disarmament and non-proliferation regime and hence of the global security architecture. They will review the issue of chemical weapons in Syria, especially the on-going investigations on allegation of use of toxic chemicals in Syria, as well as the up-coming first report of the Investigation and Identification Team that was recently put in place within the OPCW. Jean-Yves Le Drian will talk about the International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons established in January 2018 at France’s behest, and which now brings together 40 countries and the EU.
On November 2, the minister will take part in the official opening of the “House of all Languages,” a forum for exchange between languages and cultures in Amsterdam. French language and culture and the Descartes library inaugurated in January will be showcased in the presence of Leïla Slimani, winner of the Prix Goncourt and personal representative of the French president for Francophone affairs, as well as the French community.