Foreign Secretary highlights Pakistan's nuclear security efforts at IAEA conference

VIENNA: Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry highlighted Pakistan’s nuclear security credentials at the International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Security organised by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.

Addressing the conference, the Foreign Secretary shed light upon Pakistan’s efforts to contribute to the strengthening of global nuclear security objectives.

“Pakistan believes nuclear security is fundamentally a national responsibility and that states need to adopt strong measures at the national level, he said. Pakistan also believes that IAEA has a central role in strengthening the international nuclear security architecture,” said Chaudhry.

Recalling the measures taken by Pakistan in this regard, the Foreign Secretary said that Pakistan has ratified the amended Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPNM), it had participated actively in the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) process, it had established a robust command and control system led by the National Command Authority (NCA) and established strong export controls that were consistent with all major international export control regimes.

Chaudhry particularly emphasised upon the fact that Pakistan has experience of more than five decades of safe, secure and safeguarded civilian nuclear program and the country enjoys excellent cooperation with IAEA.

The Foreign Secretary led the Pakistan delegation, which also included representatives of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority, Strategic Plans Division and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Austria.