MAE, NATO to host on Nov 10 Alliance's annual conference on arms control

The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) and NATO will host on Tuesday, November 10, the Alliance's annual conference on arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, in a videoconference format.

The meeting will be opened by Minister Bogdan Aurescu and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and both speeches can be watched online.

"Assuming to host and organize the event is a concrete expression of Romania's contribution to the Allied efforts to consolidate the global architecture on arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," said an MAE release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday.

Among the guests of the 16th session of the conference will be Gustavo Zlauvinen, President-designate of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Evaluation Conference, and Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament. The conference will also be attended by the Secretary of State for Strategic Affairs, Dan Neculaescu.

The Conference will mark the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and will provide a framework for debate in view of the Evaluation Conference of this Treaty scheduled for August 2021.

According to the MAE, the event was scheduled to take place in Bucharest in March, "in recognition of Romania's high profile in NATO," but was rescheduled in videoconference format due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Annual Conference on Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction is one of NATO's flagship annual events, which aims to provide allies with an open platform for interaction on this topic with partner states, other guest states and relevant international organizations.