Kazakhstan to host Nuclear Weapons Free World Forum

"The Soviet era nuclear test site, which functioned on Kazakh soil for decades, was the world's largest and home to 456 nuclear explosions. The total radiological effect is equivalent to 116 Chernobyl accidents. The consequences to our people and environment will be felt for a long time. I am very proud that one of my first orders of business as President of Kazakhstan was a decree I signed ordering its closure," Nazarbayev said, while announcing Forum recently.

The Forum's main goal will be to build international support for the UN resolution on proclaiming August 29 as the International Day against Nuclear Tests which the General Assembly adopted unanimously in December 2009. The resolution calls for practical actions to remind the world of the terrible consequences of nuclear testing and to prevent testing in the future.

Also on the agenda will be practical and effective actions that nations of the world can take in concert to reduce existing nuclear arsenals and prevent terrorists from acquiring nuclear weapons, news bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the US reads.

The Nuclear Weapons Free World Forum in Astana will attract government leaders, former heads of state, nuclear experts, leaders of international organizations, and anti-nuclear activists. Among the high-level officials to share their thoughts will be Yukio Amano, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Tibor Toth, executive secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO).

The U.S. delegation will be led by Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman, and include Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Rose Gottemoeller, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs Andrew Weber and other senior officials. Several U.S.-based nonproliferation NGOs have confirmed their participation as well.

The Nuclear Weapons Free World Forum is but one of a series of events Kazakhstan is sponsoring, or participating in the lead-up to the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea, in March 2012. The Kazakh Government sees the International Forum for Nuclear Weapons Free World as an important stepping stone to ensure the progress made at the inaugural Nuclear Security Summit, held last year in Washington, D.C. is built upon before it reconvenes in Seoul next year.