Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh at the event (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The meeting of the Commission for the Treaty on the SoutheastAsia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) was held online on September 9 followingthe opening ceremony and plenary session of the 53rd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’Meeting in Hanoi.
Chaired by Deputy PrimeMinister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, the event reviewed the implementationof the SEANWFZ and discussed ways to further promote the issue in the near future.
Reviewing the implementationof the Action Plan to enhance the treaty during the 2018-2022 period, themeeting took note of activities conducted by specialised agencies in the fieldsof ensuring nuclear security and safety, use of atomic energy for peacefulpurpose, and improvement of capacity to deal with radiation incidents anddisaster.
Participants spoke highly ofenhanced cooperation between ASEAN and the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) and suggested ASEAN Secretariat actively work with IAEA to effectivelyrealise cooperation agreement signed in September 2019.
Reiterating commitment tomaintain the Southeast Asia free from nuclear and other mass destructionweapons, ASEAN and SEANWFZ member states agreedto continue discussing and tackling barriers so that countries with nuclearweapons could soon sign Protocol of the Treaty.
The meetingreached consensus on measures to uphold the SEANWFZ’s contributions to globalefforts to non-proliferation and disarmament of nuclear weapons and other massdestruction weapons, including popularising the SEANWFZat the UN’s meetings and forums./.
