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 Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, to discuss the priorities in the field of nuclear disarmament and the readiness of the OPANAL Secretariat to continue adding efforts and capacities from our region.
On this visit, the Minister was accompanied by the H.E. Geovani Castillo Polanco, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Lynsay Hernández de Muñoz, General Director of Bilateral International Relations, H.E. Luis David Vargas Méndez, Director General of Protocol and Diplomatic Ceremonial, H.E. Victor Humberto Hernández Scaglia, Director General of Consular and Migratory Affairs, H.E. Mr. Marco Tulio Chicas Sosa, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Guatemala to Mexico, Minister Counselor Dora Elizabeth Olmedo Santos and Counselor Luis Erick Gudiel, of the Embassy of Guatemala in Mexico.
In his welcoming 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 "has always fulfilled and continues to comply with the obligations of the Treaty fully." The Secretary-General also thanked the support of the Embassy and the diplomatic academy of Guatemala, which hosted the fifth edition of the OPANAL Course on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation last year.
The Secretary-General also shared with the Foreign Minister 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 made on the issue of interpretative declarations. In addition, the Secretary-General congratulated Guatemala for the excellent conduct of the XXVII Extraordinary Session of the General Conference of OPANAL, held last November.
