Kazakhstan and the UN Reaffirmed Their High Level of Cooperation in the Field of International Security, DKnews.kz reports
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Murat Nurtleu, held talks with UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, who arrived in Astana on a working visit.
During the meeting, the high level of cooperation between Kazakhstan and the United Nations in the fields of international security, nuclear disarmament, and non-proliferation was reaffirmed. The interlocutors exchanged views on the results of the Preparatory Committee for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which concluded on August 2 in Geneva under the chairmanship of Kazakhstan.
The parties also discussed Kazakhstan’s preparations for its upcoming chairmanship under the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in March 2025. Detailed attention was given to the Kazakh initiative to establish an International Trust Fund to assist victims of nuclear tests and to restore the environment.
The UN representative highly praised the global activities held in observance of the International Day against Nuclear Tests, celebrated on August 29, the day the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site was closed.
An important agenda item in the meeting was the implementation of the initiative by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, on the establishment of an International Agency for Biological Safety (IABS) and its further promotion on multilateral platforms.
At the meeting’s conclusion, both sides reiterated their intent to continue close cooperation on global disarmament and non-proliferation, as well as on strengthening international security.
UN Under-Secretary-General Nakamitsu arrived in Astana to participate in the conference on strengthening cooperation between nuclear-weapon-free zones, organized by Kazakhstan in cooperation with the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs.
As part of the official events on the occasion of the International Day against Nuclear Tests on August 27-28, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, jointly with the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs is holding the second thematic conference on strengthening cooperation between nuclear-weapon-free zones. The first such event took place in 2019 in Astana.
A regular meeting of the TPNW Coordinating Committee will also be held on August 29 in preparation for Kazakhstan’s chairmanship in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (NWFZ).
The events gathered over 60 participants, including diplomats, representatives of international and regional organizations as well as civil society.
