Fourth joint GCC-US workshop opened

Manama , Oct 20 (BNA): The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary, Abdulla Abdullatif Abdulla, today opened the fourth joint workshop between the GCC states and the US on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Experts and specialists from the GCC states, the US and the GCC General-Secretariat participated in the two-day workshop. The undersecretary, in his speech, expressed concern about the risks of owning, proliferation and means of delivery of weapons of mass destruction. He affirmed Bahrain's commitment to all relevant conventions and Security Council resolutions. He stressed the importance of cooperation and the exchange of expertise between the two sides in the same field. Speaking at the workshop were the US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain, William Roebuck, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the US Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, Vann H. Van Diepen, who asserted the importance of cooperation and the exchange of expertise between the US and the GCC states in this field. The workshop covered a number of topics, including methods of combating the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the exchange of best practices with respect to the control of exports and imports, a review of the experiences of countries in the fight against proliferation and the implementation of the relevant conventions and Security Council resolutions.