25 May 16. DDTC Cancels June 15 In-House Seminar. The U.S. Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) has posted on its website a notice that it has canceled the Summer In-House Industry Seminar scheduled for June 15, 2016, due to low registration. DDTC offers such seminars each quarter to interested parties in the business of manufacturing and/or exporting U.S. Munitions List articles. The Fall seminar is scheduled for September 14, 2016. Registration will be open for two weeks, August 5-19, 2016. (Source: glstrade.com)
24 May 16. Dstl hosts 19th Chemical Weapons Demilitarisation Conference
London, 25 – 27 May 2016. The Ministry of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory hosted the latest in an annual series of international conferences supporting global efforts to eliminate chemical weapons. Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister Tobias Ellwood will deliver a keynote address at the conference. The destruction of chemical weapons is a high priority under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The 19th Chemical Weapons Demilitarisation (CWD) Conference, to be held in London on 25-27 May, will provide an opportunity for experts from all over the world to discuss their progress and co-operation in eliminating chemical weapons, and the technical challenges that remain. The Ministry of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory has hosted this conference series every year since 1998. The CWD conferences have been held annually around the world since 1998, shortly after the CWC came into force, banning chemical weapons. This year’s event will be attended by the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (the international organisation responsible for the Chemical Weapons Convention), Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, and representatives from the USA, Japan, the People’s Republic of China, and several other countries. Discussions will focus on the progress made by national CWD programmes, destruction technologies, and the technical challenges of carrying out destruction in unusual and demanding circumstances such as those in Syria. Participants will also look at explosive detonation technology, chemical safety and security, recovery of chemical weapons from rivers and seas, and innovative technologies.
Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, said: “A priority for the Chemical Weapons Convention is to complete the elimination of chemical weapon stockpiles. We are now moving into the final phase of this work, with over 92% of the world’s declared stockpiles now destroyed. The focus of international efforts will then move to preventing the re-emergence of chemical weapons. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is already planning for this, but we still have a number of important challenges to overcome before we can reach this stage. I welcome the important role that the Chemical Weapons Demilitarisation Conference continues to play in supporting international efforts to destroy chemical weapons, and contributing to our shared goal of a world free of chemical weapon threats.”
20 May 16. ComDef 2016 Europe @ Eurosatory | June 14-15 | Paris.
DEVELOPING ENDURING PARTNERSHIPS
TUESDAY, JUNE 14 2016
09:15-10:30 Session 1: National Perspectives: Regional Groupings vs Collective Security
Defense ministers/NAD discussing funding and programs
o The Hon. Katrina McFarland, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics & Technology) and Army Acquisition Executive, United States
o Morten Tiller, Deputy Secretary General and NAD, Norway (Confirmed)
o BGEN. Vincent Thomassier, Director for Western Europe and North America, DGA
10:45-12:00 Session 2: Future of NATO
Missions and activities; Smart Procurement; Co-production; Pooling and Sharing; BMD; Centers of Excellence; Command and Control
o Peter C.W. Flory, Vice President, International, QinetiQ North America