October 13, 2006
Posted to the web October 13, 2006
South Africa has welcomed its election as chair of the Nuclear Supplier Group for the next two years.
South Africa welcomes the confidence placed in it by the full membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group as recognition of the country's non-proliferation and disarmament credentials, said the Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday.
The Group unanimously confirmed this appointment at its consultative meeting in Vienna, Austria, on Thursday.
Consequently, the group's next annual plenary meeting will be held in South Africa in 2007.
South is represented by Ambassador Abdul Minty in the organisation that was established in 1975 to ensure that nuclear items for peaceful purposes are not diverted to unsafe and unguarded activities or weapons.
The group currently chaired by Brazil, comprises 45 countries across the world considered as suppliers of nuclear items.
It inevitably deals with the dual-use items that can be used for either peaceful or non-peaceful purposes.
South Africa terminated its nuclear weapons programme and acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) on 10 July 1991.
Shortly afterwards, the country concluded a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
For this reason, it remains opposed to any proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and continues to call for the disbanding of nuclear weapons.
In this regard, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad on Thursday expressed concern if indeed a nuclear weapon has been tested in North Korea this week.
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