58th AMM: SEANWFZ Committee Meets Ahead Commission Meeting
KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 (Bernama) -- The Executive Committee of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Commission (SEANWFZ EXCOM) convened here on Monday to finalise key preparatory work for the SEANWFZ Commission Meeting to be held tomorrow at the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) and related meetings.
Chaired by Foreign Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin, the session focused on reviewing progress in implementing the SEANWFZ Treaty's Plan of Action.
Also discussed were the potential accession of Timor-Leste to the Treaty and the long-standing issue of securing the accession of the Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) to the Treaty's Protocol.
'Timor-Leste's participation will widen the geographical scope for the Treaty.
'This is one positive aspect from the participation of Timor-Leste as a new member in ASEAN,' he told reporters after the meeting at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
The meeting was attended by senior officials from all 10 ASEAN member states, while an official from Timor-Leste participated as an observer.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan is scheduled to chair the SEANWFZ Commission meeting at 3.15 pm tomorrow.
The SEANWFZ Treaty, also known as the Bangkok Treaty, was signed in December 1995 in Bangkok by ASEAN member states as a commitment to preserve Southeast Asia as a region free of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.
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