Romania was elected by consensus to chair the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) at the 45th session held in Vienna on Nov. 16 and 17, the Foreign Affairs Ministry announced in a release to AGERPRES on Wednesday.
The chairmanship will be exercised by the Romanian Permanent Representative in Vienna, Ambassador Cristian Istrate in 2016, when the CTBTO and the Commission celebrate their 20th anniversary, the ministry added.
Romania’s election to the position for the second time amounts to recognition of its contribution to the promotion of the enforcement and universal application of the document, the release said.
The CTBTO Preparatory Commission gathers diplomats representing 183 signatory states and represents the Treaty Organization’s political decision-making body.
“The main tasks of the Preparatory Commission chairman, in addition to chairing the plenary sessions, relate to facilitating the consensus on sensitive issues on the CTBTO agenda and coordinating the negotiations between the signatory states and regional groups with a view to adopting the decisions of the Commission”, the ministry explained.
Romania thinks the CTBT is one of the basic pillars of the international security architecture and firmly supports its taking effect fast as an essential step towards attaining the objectives of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, the release added. More…