India offers $1m to destroy Syria's chemical weapons

India on Tuesday offered a financial contribution of USD one million to the Trust Fund set up at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) at The Hague for its utilization in destroying Syria's chemical weapons and related facilities, the Indian foreign ministry stated. Apart from that, the ministry said India would also offer the services of its experts to be used by the OPCW in the destruction verification activity as well as training slots for the personnel participating in the UN/OPCW mission for the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons. "India is an original state party to the Chemical Weapons Convention and as a possessor state it has completed the destruction of its chemical weapons in accordance with the Convention," the ministry noted. India has hailed progress on the time-bound safeguarding and destruction of Syria's chemical weapons and its accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention. "India's assistance to the OPCW is a concrete demonstration of India's consistent position of support for the complete destruction and elimination of chemical weapons worldwide," the ministry added.