UN-sponsored Sapporo II Meeting on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia

March 23, 2000

UN-sponsored Sapporo II Meeting on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia will be held from April 3 (Mon) to 6 (Thu) in Sapporo City with the cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Sapporo has been chosen to be the venue again since the close cooperation of the local authorities including Hokkaido and Sapporo City at the first Meeting in October last year was so highly appreciated.
This Meeting will be attended by about 20 participants including government representatives from the five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) experts and the UN staff. From Japan, Amb. Norio Hattori, Director-General for Arms Control and Scientific Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, will attend the Meeting and deliver a speech at the opening ceremony.
Based upon the UN resolution concerning the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia, the five Central Asian countries have been working on a draft of the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty. At the coming Meeting, active discussions will be expected toward a final agreement, taking into account the fact that the NPT (Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons) Review Conference will be held in April this year.

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