Kazakhstan, Japan finish chairing CTBT Article XIV Conferences
At the conference, Kazakhstan and Japan handed over the two-year co-chairmanship to Belgium and Iraq. The main goal for the co-chairs is to help the early entry into force of the CTBT. Under Article 14 of the Treaty, it needs to be ratified by all the states specified in the Annex 2 so that to enter into force.
"For two years, Kazakhstan and Japan have worked consistently to enable the Treaty's entry into force. In October 2015, in Astana President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and Prime Minister of Japan Shinzō Abe signed the joint document in support of the Treaty, at the highest political level for the first time in the CTBT history. Kazakhstan and Japan made similar urges within the framework of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington and the Session of the Open-ended Working Group in Geneva in 2016," Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said at the conference.
The Foreign Minister also emphasized the importance of the IAEA Low-Enriched Uranium Bank's building commissioning in Ust-Kamenogorsk for peaceful use of atomic energy and strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Mr. Abdrakhmanov dwelled upon the Kazakh President's nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation initiatives announced during the LEU Bank opening ceremony and the results of the Jubilee 62nd Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs held in Astana.
The CTBT was adopted to be signed in 1996. The treaty establishes a bans all nuclear explosions and is an important tool in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. The co-chairmanship of Kazakhstan as part of the process to promote the CTBT entry into force is a continuation of President Nazarbayev's nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation initiatives and has served as another great contribution of our country to the process of establishing a universal ban on nuclear testing.