Tileuberdi addressed the online session of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva

Nur-Sultan, February 22, 2021 - Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Mukhtar Tileuberdi, made a video statement at the High-Level Segment of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

The Foreign Minister stressed that nuclear disarmament remain a permanent priority for the international community and the recent entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) is a demonstration of importance if this matter.

Kazakhstan’s support for the TPNW is based on the First President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s initiatives against nuclear weapons, and his proposal to create a Global Alliance of Leaders for Nuclear Security and Nuclear-Weapon-Free World remains quite relevant in this regard.

Mukhtar Tileuberdi informed the participants that the Third Awarding Ceremony of the “Nazarbayev Prize for a Nuclear Weapon Free World and Global Security” would be held in the framework of the 30^th Anniversary of the Closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site and commemoration on 29 August - the International Day against Nuclear Tests.

TPNW does not substitute, but complements the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Kazakhstan welcomed the extension of the New START Treaty between the Russian Federation and the United States as a demonstration of their commitment to the process of nuclear disarmament.

With regard to the Conference on Disarmament Tileuberdi stressed that Kazakhstan’s priorities are issues of nuclear disarmament, Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty, the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space, and negative security assurances. He called on all participants to start the substantive work of the Conference.

Highlighting the importance of the implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) the Foreign Minister informed the delegations that a concept paper on the initiative of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to establish an International Agency for biological safety accountable to the UN Security Council would be presented so interested states could engage in an in-depth discussion of this proposal.