Regional meeting on chemical weapons begins in Ecuador

People's Daily Online, 7 May 2008

A regional meeting on chemical weapons non-proliferation attended by 19 Latin American and Caribbean countries started Tuesday in Ecuador's capital of Quito.

Delegates from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPAQ) will also take part in the two-day meeting, the Ecuadorian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Representatives will discuss efforts on dismantling and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to guarantee peace for the countries that do not own nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and prevent threats from countries with such weapons, it said.

Latin America and the Caribbean are distinguished for being peaceful and have refrained from possessing weapons of mass destruction, said the statement.

Caribbean nations have complained in previous meetings that ships carrying chemical waste on the seas of Latin America and the Caribbean posed potential dangers to the region.

Source:Xinhua