On Wednesday, February 15, 2023, the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL) received with great honor the visit of His Excellency. Mr. Mario Búcaro Flores, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, to discuss priorities regarding nuclear disarmament and the willingness of the OPANAL Secretariat to continue adding efforts and capabilities from our region.
On this visit, the Chancellor was accompanied by Amb. Geovani Castillo Polanco, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Lynsay Hernández de Muñoz, General Director of Bilateral International Relations, Amb. Luis David Vargas Méndez, Director General of Diplomatic Protocol and Ceremonial, Amb. Victor Humberto Hernández Scaglia, Director General of Consular and Immigration Affairs, the Hon. Mr. Marco Tulio Chicas Sosa, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Guatemala in Mexico, Minister Counselor Dora Elizabeth Olmedo Santos and Counselor Luis Erick Gudiel, from the Embassy of Guatemala in Mexico.
In his welcome speech, Ambassador Flavio Roberto Bonzanini, Secretary General of OPANAL, thanked the Minister for his important visit and his constant support for OPANAL, emphasizing that Guatemala “always complied and continues to fully comply with the obligations of the Treaty.” The Secretary General also thanked the support of the Embassy and the diplomatic academy of Guatemala, which hosted last year the 5th edition of the OPANAL Course on disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation.
Likewise, the Secretary General shared with the Chancellor the details of the commemorative event held on February 14, 2023 on the occasion of the 56th anniversary of the Treaty of Tlatelolco and the progress regarding the issue of interpretative declarations. Furthermore, the Secretary General congratulated Guatemala for the excellent conduct of the XXVII Extraordinary Session of the General Conference of OPANAL, held last November.
