Hiroshima, Japan: A high-level delegation from the UAE yesterday participated in the 8th ministerial meeting of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) held in Hiroshima, Japan.
The UAE delegation was led by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State, with the participation of Ambassador Hamad Al Ka’abi, UAE permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
During the meeting, ministers and senior officials discussed the progress of the NPDI initiative and highlighted the important contributions and working papers made in advance of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference being held from April 28 to May 9 in New York City. The meeting also discussed pressing international cases of non-proliferation, including the ongoing nuclear programmes in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Iran.
“The UAE is an active member of multiple international initiatives promoting non-proliferating efforts,” said Dr Al Jaber. “Our non-proliferation credentials are well recognised within the international community. The UAE remains committed to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and to working with our international partners to promote its full implementation.”
In 1995, the UAE became a non-nuclear weapon state party to the NPT and concluded a comprehensive safeguards agreement with the IAEA in 2003 with an additional protocol in 2009.
The NPDI ministerial meeting was held at Hiroshima, where the first war-time atomic bomb in history was dropped. Ministers visited the cenotaph for atomic bomb victims and the Peace Memorial Museum. During the meeting, ministers were universal in their calls for a systematic and continued reduction of all types of nuclear weapons and for full implementation of comprehensive safeguard agreements with additional protocols as verification standards.
On the sidelines of the event, the UAE delegation met the Australian delegation and they discussed areas of common interest.
The ministers welcomed The Hague Communique which addresses the threat of nuclear terrorism and the need for stronger international cooperation in the areas of nuclear security. The communique was adopted at the recent Nuclear Security Summit held in the Netherlands in March, which was attended by General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces
The NDPI meeting concluded with a joint statement from the ministers re-affirming their commitment and shared goals to advance the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation agendas.
NPDI is a cross-regional, ministerial-level group initiated by 10 countries including the UAE. It focuses on practical steps that will take forward the consensus outcomes of the 2010 NPT Review Conference. Other member countries include Australia, Japan, Canada, Chile, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, the Philippines, Poland and Turkey.
