Regional Seminar: “Strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime” was held in Bishkek

From September 6 to 9, 2023, a Regional Seminar on the topic: “Strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime” was held in Bishkek (Novotel Bishkek Conference Hall).

The event was organized by the Center for Energy and Security and the Center for Foreign Policy Cooperation named after E.M. Primakov in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic.

The seminar was timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the initiative to create a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia. The Treaty on a Nuclear Free Zone in the region was signed on September 8, 2006 and entered into force on March 21, 2009. The Kyrgyz Republic is the depositary of the Treaty. https://mfa.gov.kg/ru/osnovnoe-menyu/press-sluzhba/novosti/17-ya-godovshchina-podpisaniya-dogovora-o-zone-svobodnoy-ot-yadernogo-oruzhiya-v-centralnoy-azii

The central theme of the seminar program was the role of the NWFZ in ensuring predictability, stability and security in Central Asia, and the possibility of applying the experience of the NWFZ in Central Asia to other regions of the world. Among other topics of the Regional Seminar, challenges to the nuclear non-proliferation regime at the present stage, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), prospects for the development of peaceful uses of atomic energy in Central Asia, as well as the role of education in strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime were discussed.

As part of the seminar, a high-level meeting was held on September 8, 2023, in which representatives of the foreign policy departments of all Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) took part.

The seminar was attended by representatives of analytical centers (including the Center for Non-Proliferation and Export Control of the Kyrgyz Republic), research and specialized government organizations of the countries of Central Asia and states neighboring the region, as well as specialized international organizations (IAEA, PC CTBTO, UN Office for Disarmament Affairs).

At a high level, the Seminar was attended by the Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) Robert Floyd, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Ryabkov, First Deputy Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic Asein Isaev and Director of the UN Regional Center for Peace and disarmament in the Asia-Pacific region Dipayan Basu Ray. https://mfa.gov.kg/ru/osnovnoe-menyu/press-sluzhba/novosti/v-gbishkek-nachal-svoyu-rabotu-regionalnyy-seminar-ukreplenie-rezhima-yadernogo-nerasprostraneniya