Deputy PM underlines importance of SEANWFZ Treaty in ensuring safety

ASEAN Foreign Ministers and ASEAN Secretary-General to the Meeting of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Commission in Bangkok, Thailand on July 30, 2019

Minh made the statement at the meeting of the SEANWFZ Commission in Bangkok, Thailand on July 30.

He urged ASEAN to continue accelerating cooperation in security and nuclear safety in the region, focusing on improving the capacity to prevent and cope with radiation incidents and enhance coordination among regional competent agencies in dealing with natural disasters.

Meanwhile, ASEAN also needs to continue upholding its role and contributions to the common efforts of the international community in non-proliferation and disarmament of nuclear and mass destruction weapons, Minh stressed.

He suggested ASEAN needs to double efforts to remove obstacles in order to create favorable conditions for 5 countries with nuclear weapons to sign the Protocol of the SEANWFZ Treaty.

At the meeting, the regional countries agreed to foster efforts for full and effective realization of the action plan on enhancing the implementation of the SEANWFZ Treaty for 2018-2020.

The bloc pledged to continue consultation with the above five countries regarding their accession to the Protocol to ensure that they respect the SEANWFZ.

The bloc also agreed to beef up cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other partners to improve its technical capacity.

The same day, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh also attended ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting Interface with ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) Representatives./.

By Ngoc Van