ISLAMABAD: Foreign Secr­etary Aizaz Chaudhry has said that Pakistan looks forward to the removal of the barriers for gaining equitable and non-discriminatory access to the international civil nuclear cooperation.

He said the country desired to contribute to safe, secure and responsible nuclear trade for peaceful purposes, as a full member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). As a state with strong nuclear suppliers’ capabilities and an effective national export control regime, Pakistan has applied for membership of the NSG.

“Pakistan’s export control regime is at par with the standards followed by the NSG, Missile Technology Control Regime and the Australia Group. Pakistan has also declared its voluntary adherence to NSG guidelines,” Mr Chaudhry said in a statement at the International Conference on Nuclear Security: Commitments and Action, held in Vienna.

He said in order to meet its exponentially increasing energy needs and to support sustained economic growth and industrial development in the years to come, civil nuclear power generation was an imperative necessity for Pakistan.

“Our energy requirements are expected to grow by a factor of 7 over the next two decades. Hence, our national goal is to expand our nuclear power capacity significantly,” he added.

The secretary said the conference reflected the high importance that the international community attached to the objective of strengthening nuclear security globally, through concerted national actions. It was an objective that demanded constant vigilance, perpetual preparedness and zero complacency in order to ensure that nuclear and radioactive materials remained secure at all times, he added.

He said nuclear security fundamentally was a national responsibility. International and institutional actions were shaped and determined by national nuclear security measures.

“We acknowledge IAEA’s role in assisting states, upon their request, in their efforts to put in place effective nuclear security measures. The adoption of declaration today with consensus unequivocally manifests that if all states adopt strong measures at the national level, nuclear security will be enhanced globally,” a press release on Tuesday quoted the foreign secretary as saying.

He said Pakistan was strongly committed to the objective of strengthening nuclear security at the national level and remained alive to the need for sustained national efforts. At the same time, he added, the country had been proactively engaged with the international community to promote nuclear safety and security.

“Pakistan’s ratification of the 2005 Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material is yet another manifestation of Pakistan’s confidence in its national nuclear security regime, which is consistent with the contemporary international standards,” he added.

Mr Chaudhry said Pakistan was also a party to the Nuclear Safety Convention, Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident, and the Convention on Assistance in Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency.

He said Pakistan had been a consistent supporter of the objectives of the UN Security Council Resolution 1540.

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2016