Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
The 1st Meeting of the Global Partnership Working Group (Summary)
March 31, 2023
On 9 and 10 March, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, as this year’s G7 Presidency, hosted the first meeting of the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction Working Group (GPWG) in Tokyo (Mita Conference Hall). The summary is as follows.
- The Working Group was chaired by Shigeki Ito, Deputy Director-General of the Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Science Department, and attended by approximately 140 participants from 24 Member States and other countries, as well as the EU and other international organisations. Participants actively engaged in discussions on the prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and other weapons, and exchanged views on concrete measures.
- During the plenary session, each country made statements on its own initiatives under the Global Partnership (GP) and participants exchanged their opinions on CBRN support to Ukraine in light of Russia's aggression.
- More technical discussions took place between the attendees in the four separate sessions on biosecurity, chemical security, nuclear and radiological security and the CBRN. In addition, matchmaking sessions in each of the separate sessions provided a lively exchange of views on project proposals by the participants.
- At the welcome reception in the evening of 9 September, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shunsuke Takei, in his opening remarks, welcomed the participants and stated that Japan, as this year’s G7 Presidency, would make further contributions to the GP, as it is an important initiative in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation (English (PDF)
).