German politicians & experts support Kazakhstan's efforts in global nuclear disarmament
The event, organized jointly with the Konrad Adenauer Fund, was attended by the members of the German Bundestag, representatives of ministries and departments of Germany, the German socio-political and scientific communities, NGOs and the media. Kazakh delegation was represented by the Ambassador of Kazakhstan in Germany Nurlan Onzhanov, the Ambassador at-large of the MFA of Kazakhstan Roman Vasilenko and honorary Ambassador of "ATOM" project – the Kazakh artist Karipbek Kuyukov who introduced his paintings.
Before the start of the conference the participants were shown a video of "ATOM" which told about the nuclear legacy of Kazakhstan inherited from the Soviet Union as well as the heavy consequences of nuclear testing in our country which adversely affected the health and fate of more than half a million people.
In his speech the Director of the European and International Cooperation Fund named after Konrad Adenauer Frank Preece praised Kazakhstan's role in the global nuclear disarmament and also stressed the extreme urgency and action-orientation of "ATOM" project for the international agenda.
The presentation of "ATOM" to the participants of the conference was made by the Ambassador at-large Roman Vasilenko who noted the consistent growth of broad international support for the initiative. According to him, people from over 100 countries have already signed an online petition calling for the world leaders to stop all nuclear testing and to make their best efforts to make the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CNTBT) operative.
During the panel discussion the Deputy Commissioner of the Federal Government of Germany for Disarmament and Arms Control, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Ambassador Christoph Eichhorn noted the similarity of views of the foreign ministries of the two countries on the issues and stressed the importance of establishing multilateral efforts in the global nuclear disarmament. The German diplomat praised the outcome of an international conference held in Astana in 2012 with the participation of Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.
Bundestag Deputy Jürgen Klimke warmly welcoming the Kazakh delegation on behalf of the German parliament has praised the measures taken by Kazakhstan in promoting the idea of the global nuclear disarmament.
The event showed broad support from the public and political circles of Germany and German anti-nuclear organizations, the international initiative of Nursultan Nazarbayev "ATOM" as well as Kazakhstan's efforts for comprehensive nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
As you know in a speech at a major international parliamentary conference carried out in Astana on August 29, 2012 the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev has announced the launch of "ATOM" project as a mechanism aimed at creating global public support for the final and irrevocable nuclear weapon tests ban and, ultimately, its total destruction.