Statement
by
H.E. Mrs. Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic
Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Croatia
Mr. Chairman/Chairperson,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me at the outset to reaffirm Croatia's unequivocal support for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Joint Ministerial Statement on the CTBT.
It was indeed compelling that we should meet here to mark the tenth anniversary of the Treaty's opening for signature, and to highlight the major importance that we attach to the Treaty's entry into force.
In the current complex global security environment the Treaty's entry into force is, as the Joint Ministerial Statement will make clear, “more urgent than ever before”. Indeed, the Treaty's entry into force is indispensable as one of the central planks in the global efforts towards achieving nuclear disarmament and stemming the growing danger of nuclear proliferation.
Croatia would like to hope that the call that comes out of this meeting addressed to all States that have not signed the Treaty, especially to those whose ratification is necessary for the entry into force, will not go unheard and unheeded.
I would like to use this opportunity to commend the activities of the Provisional Technical Secretariat and the Executive Secretary in building up the verification system and in providing technical cooperation to Member States, including Croatia.
Our evolving technical cooperation with the Technical Secretariat has been productive and beneficial, for both sides. It has been demonstrated, among other things, by a successful, international on-site inspection directed exercise and an experimental advanced course organized in Croatia in July this year. Croatia is planning, in conjunction with the Secretariat, to take the cooperation to a new level, including by establishing a National Data Centre.
In conclusion, I would like to assure you, Mr. Chairman/Chairperson, of Croatia's full commitment to continue working, both nationally and with other Member States, to further the objectives of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, to which this Treaty is a key.
I thank you.
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