Prime Minister Kishida attends the High-Level Meeting of the Friends of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
On September 21, 2022, commencing at 11:20 a.m. (local time, September 22, 2022, 0:20 a.m.) for approximately 60 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, attended the High-level Meeting of the Friends of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) during his visit to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly. The summary of the meeting is as follows.
Prime Minister Kishida announced to hold this meeting in his general debate speech in August at the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and the meeting was held at the leaders level of the Friends of the CTBT for the first time.
1. In his opening remarks at the outset of the meeting, Prime Minister Kishida, while referring to the "Hiroshima Action Plan," which he had announced at the NPT Review Conference in August, stated that the entry-into-force of the CTBT would be an important step in advancing the plan. He also stressed the importance of the universalization of the CTBT and its early entry-into-force, as well as the strengthening of the verification system.
2. In addition, Prime Minister Kishida stated that Japan will further actively support the development and enhancement of the operational system to implement the Treaty for countries, including those ratified and not ratified yet, especially those in the Asia-Pacific region. He also stated that Japan will also promote maintaining and strengthening observation facilities, including those located in Japan, and further enhance the International Monitoring System.
3. Then, under the facilitation by Foreign Minister Wong of Australia, statements were made by Ms. NAKAMITSU Izumi, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Dr. Robert Floyd, Executive Secretary of the Provisional Technical Secretariat of Preparatory Commission for CTBTO and the representative of the CTBTO Youth Group, notably as a member of CTBT Friends, Mr. Sauli Niinistö, President of the Republic of Finland, and as guest countries, Mr. Azari Assoumani, President of the Union of Comoros, Cardinal. Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of Vatican, and Ms. Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand. At the end of the meeting, a joint statement was adopted.
4. While continuing to make further contributions to the early entry-into-force of the CTBT and to the strengthening of the verification system, Japan will make realistic and practical efforts, including the early entry-into-force of the CTBT, toward the realization of a world without nuclear weapons in a step-by-step, persistent and steady manner.
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The Friends of the CTBT group was established in 2002 by Japan, Australia and the Netherlands with a view to maintaining and strengthening the momentum to promote the entry-into-force of the CTBT. (Member countries are Japan, Australia, the Netherlands, Canada, Finland and Germany). The group has to date held nine meetings of foreign ministers.
