Second Workshop on the Draft Law on Countering the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

On 4 March 2024, in Hanoi, the Chemical Corps - the Standing Office of the National Focal Point of Vietnam for countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (Standing Office 81) - in cooperation with the Export Control and Related Border Security Program of the U.S. Department of State (EXBS Program) and the European Union's Export Control Programme for Dual-Use Goods in South-East Asia (EU P2P), opened the second workshop on the draft Law on Countering the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

The workshop was attended by 30 delegates who are legislative drafting experts from ministries and sectors, such as the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the State Bank of Vietnam…, the National Focal Point of Vietnam for countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and Standing Office 81, together with international experts from the EXBS Program and EU P2P.

Workshop delegates in a commemorative photograph.

In his opening remarks, Senior Colonel Nguyen Dinh Hien, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Chemical Corps and Deputy Head of Standing Office 81, outlined the process of research to improve the legal system on countering the proliferation of WMD and affirmed that the draft was the result of tireless, dedicated work carried out with a high sense of responsibility by the experts of the EXBS Program and EU P2P and the officials of Vietnamese ministries and sectors.

Senior Colonel Nguyen Dinh Hien, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Chemical Corps and Deputy Head of Standing Office 81, delivers the opening remarks at the workshop.

The workshop will take place over three days, from 4 to 6 March 2024, with 10 discussion sessions. At the first session, the experts of the EXBS Program and EU P2P explained how comments on the first draft of the Law had been addressed and set out the new points in the second draft. In the subsequent sessions, delegates and experts focused on assessing, discussing and commenting on the draft Law on Countering the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction for Vietnam, on the principle of compliance with the Constitution and ensuring a balance between Vietnam's interests and the obligations it must fulfil.

View of the workshop.

The research and drafting of the draft Law on Countering the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction is an important step in improving the legal system so as to fully meet the requirements of Resolution 1540 and the international treaties on countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to which Vietnam is a party. The results of the workshop are an important basis for Standing Office 81 to continue working with domestic and international experts and to advise competent authorities with a view to the early completion of the legal system on countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Vuong Nguyen - Centre 81